Those NT women already have a gloomy life expectancy almost 20 years below the national average.

A health report released today highlights major gaps in men's health in the NT.

In 2017, the median age of death for men in Australia was 79.1 years, with women living to 85.1 years on average.

NT men are dying younger than men in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, the ACT, Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland.

If you want to live longer then move to Victoria, the study shows.

Victorian men live past 80 years on average and women in Victoria can expect to reach 85.7 years.

NT men are dying 3.1 years younger than women across the Territory, whose average age of death is 66.3 years (compared with 63.2 for men).

The good news is that the average age of death for men in the NT has risen by 4.1 years in the past decade, from 59.1 years in 2007 to 63.2 years in 2017.

Heart disease is the biggest killer - NT men have the highest rate of heart disease in Australia.

Every week, an average of nearly six men die by suicide in the NT, with men accounting for about three quarters of suicides.

Men and boys in the NT are more likely to die on the roads than males in any other state or territory.

The Northern Territory Men's Health Report Card 2019 published by the Australian Men's Health Forum (AMHF) highlights a number of areas of concern including the fact that men in the NT are dying three years (3.1) younger than women on average.

The report draws on most recent data from a range of government sources and states:

The number of men not in the labour force has risen by nearly 190% since 1978.

AMHF, the national peak body for men's health, is calling on the NT Government to invest more time, money and resources into improving the lives and health of men and boys.

AMHF president Jonathan Bedloe said: "This report card on the state of men and boys' health in the NT tells us we must do better.

"Our sons are less educated than our daughters.

"Our brothers die younger than our sisters.

"Our fathers are more likely to die at work than our mothers.

"Our male friends are more likely to die by suicide than our female friends.

"The solution to these problems is not to stop working to improve the lives of women and girls, but to increase our efforts to tackle the issues facing men and boys.

"This means investing more time, money and resources into helping health services become more male-friendly and focused on the needs of men and boys.

"It also means looking at the wider social factors that shape men's health, which include boys' education, our experiences of fatherhood, our working lives, our financial wellbeing and our social connections."

When compared with other states and territories, the NT was ranked last for men's health behind the ACT (1st), Victoria (2nd), New South Wales (3rd), South Australia (4th), Western Australia (5th), Queensland (6th), Tasmania (7th).

AMHF chief executive Glen Poole said: "The National Men's Health Strategy calls on governments at all levels to address the unique needs of men and boys through their policies, programs and services. To date, just two States have developed a men's health strategy and most Government initiatives to improve our physical and mental health aren't specifically targeted at men and boys.

"The statistics uncovered in our report on the current state of male health in the NT demonstrate that there is much work still to do. It's time for the NT Government to take better care of men and boys' health by developing a statewide men's health policy.

"The best way to achieve this is by working closely with the men's health sector in the NT which has a proud history of working to improve the lives and health of men and boys.

The NT Men's Health Report Card 2019 was launched at the Men's Health Forum at the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre.

The Australian Men's Health Forum is the peak body for people working to improve the lives and health of men and boys in Australia. It is funded by the Federal Government.

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