South Koreans live about 11 years longer than their counterparts in North Korea, statistics showed Thursday, with the gap appearing to have significantly widened due to flooding and famine in the North in 1990.

According to a health report released by OECD Korea Policy Center, the average life span of South Korean women and men was 84.6 years and 78 years, respectively, as of 2015.

The average life expectancy of North Korean women was 73.3 years, while that of men was 66.3 years. There was a difference of more than 11 years in the life expectancy of both genders for South Korea compared to the North. 

The gap started to grow in 1990 when the North suffered from a famine and economic crisis that followed natural disasters, the report stated. It also forecast that the difference would likely be maintained until 2060.