Health status is an important determinant of economic and social development of a population. Life
expectancy, an indicator of measuring health status of a population, has been increasing worldwide
over the years. Longer life does not necessarily mean healthier life. Health expectancy, an important
indicator of measuring the quality of life lived by a population. The objective of this study is to
examine whether gender differentials in health expectancy exists in the rural areas of Nagaland- a
hilly state in the north east India. Age specific proportions of persons afflicted by disease were
collected from 5404 individuals belonging to 1150 households using a cross sectional survey
conducted in May- July, 2011 in 23 villages of Kohima and Dimapur districts of Nagaland. Sullivan’s
method was used to estimate the health expectancies for both sexes in the rural areas of Nagaland.
The health expectancies at birth for males (females) in the rural areas of Nagaland were found to be
50.64 (52.27) years. A clear gender differential has been observed with females having an advantage
in health expectancies compared to males in all ages in the rural areas of Nagaland.