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while the life expectancy of Indigenous females is 64.8 years compared with82.0 years for total females. 2Figure 3.1.1 Life expectancy at birth, Indigenous 1996–2001, total population1998–2000a, b, c, dIndigenous males Indigenous females Total males Total femalesAge in years9080706050403020100NSW/Vic Qld WA/SA NT Austa Indigenous data are for the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and include anadjustment for undercoverage of Indigenous deaths. b Indigenous life expectancy excludes Tasmania and theACT. For Tasmania and the ACT, use data for NSW and Victoria. c Life expectancy data for Indigenous malesand Indigenous females are for the period 1996–2001. Data for total males and females cover the period1998–2000, the approximate mid-point of the Indigenous data. d Data are subject to a degree of uncertaintyand apparent differences in life expectancy estimates between jurisdictions may not be statistically significant.Source: ABS (2004b); table 3A.1.1.• In both the Indigenous and total populations, females tend to live longer thanmales. Life expectancies at birth for Indigenous females are currently 5.4 yearshigher than for Indigenous males. The size of the ‘gender gap’ in the totalAustralian population is also 5.4 years (figure 3.1.1).The NT is the only State or Territory where Indigenous identification in mortalityhas been of sufficient and sustained quality to allow time series analysis. A recentstudy by Wilson, Condon and Barnes (2007) found that the life expectancy ofIndigenous people in the NT had risen by eight years for men (from 52 to 60 years)and 14 years for women (from 54 to 68 years) over the past 40 years (1967 to2004). Over the same period, total Australian life expectancy rose from 68 to 78years for males and from 74 to 83 years for females. The gap between Indigenousand non-Indigenous life expectancies in the NT remains large, however, for2 The ABS has not produced estimates of total male and female life expectancies for the period1996–2001. The total population life expectancy data presented are for the period 1998–2000,which is the approximate mid-point of the 1996–2001 period covered by the Indigenous data.HEADLINEINDICATORS3.5