Education level, rather than gender, is one of the determining factors in how long Swedes will live, a survey issued by official statistics agency Statistics Sweden Tuesday shows.

In 2011-2013, women aged at 30 with post-secondary education were expected to live on average to be 86.4 years old, compared with those who had only compulsory education who were expected to live to be an average of 81.4 years.

Men aged at 30 with post-secondary education were expected to live to be an average 83.4 years old, compared with an estimated average of 78.2 years for those with only compulsory education.

In 2000, when the agency first did a longevity survey, women aged at 30 with post-secondary education were expected to live on average to be 85.2 years old, compared with an estimated average of 81.1 years for women with just compulsory education.

Men with post-secondary education aged at 30 were expected to live to be an average 81.5 years old in 2000, compared with an estimated 76.9 years for those with compulsory education only.

In an interview with Xinhua, statistician Orjan Hemstrom said that the gap between how long men and women live has decreased since 2000 and that education level has become more important than gender.

He said that the reason those with higher education are expected to live longer is because they often have a healthier lifestyle than those with less education, including smoking less and not drinking as much alcohol.

In addition, he said that "a higher education level means higher income and usually a better working environment," which help contribute to longevity.

Only those born in Sweden were surveyed. Hemstrom said that is because the agency has not been able to get enough data on the education of foreigners living Sweden to do a statistically valid survey of them. Endi

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