Updated at 8.40pm

LIFE EXPECTANCY IN Ireland is continuing to rise for both men and women, with the gender gap narrowing slightly.

An Irish man is now expected to live 78.3 years, and an Irish woman for 82.7.

New analysis by the CSO covering 2010 to 2012 shows life expectancy has risen dramatically – 20.9 years (36.4%) for men and 24.8 years (42.8) for women – since the first official life table was in 1926.

It’s also a continued rise from previous set of figures in 2006 of 1.5 years for males and 1.1 years for females.

The figures published today show Ireland’s world ranking, according to the CIA factbook, remains uncharged at 27th.

Source: CSO.ie

Among EU states Sweden has the highest life expectancy for men (79.9 years) and France for women (85.7 years)

“In 2011, Irish male life expectancy ranked in joint 11th place with Austria while Irish female life expectancy ranked 17th,” the CSO’s report said.

Females had a longer life expectancy than males across all EU member states.

On Monday Syracuse.com reported that the oldest Irish women to have ever lived died in New York.

Kathleen Hayes Rollins Snavely, who travelled to the United States aged 19, died at the age of 113 and 140 days.

This makes the 16th oldest person in the world. The oldest man in the world, Sakari Momoi, died aged 112 on Monday.

Read: The world’s oldest man, Sakari Momoi, has died >