The relatively small female advantage in Africa in 2010-2015 is mainly a consequence of the differential impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on mortality levels by sex, with HIV prevalence estimated to be higher among women than among men. In the more developed regions, the female advantage is larger in Europe (7.4 years or 11.3 per cent) than in Northern America (4.7 years or 6.1 per cent) and Oceania, which includes Australia-New Zealand. The child mortality rate, also known as the “under-five mortality rate”1 declined at a remarkable pace of about 3 per cent per year between 1990 and 2015.