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Why do male voices usually sound about an octave lower than corresponding female voices?

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Educational diagram showing the human voice-producing apparatus, including a side view of the head and neck with labeled tongue, larynx, vocal cords, and trachea, plus a top-down view of the vocal cords during inhalation and sound production. Labels explain the roles of resonators, vocal cord positioning, and cartilage structures in speech. — vocal music The parts of human anatomy that produce vocal sound.

In the context of vocal music, the phenomenon where male voices sound approximately one octave lower than corresponding female voices is primarily due to the larger dimensions of the adult male larynx.1

During puberty, the male larynx grows significantly under the influence of hormones, becoming approximately one-third larger than the female larynx. Because the vocal cords are housed within this structure, their length and thickness increase as well. In acoustics, the pitch of a voice is determined by the frequency of vocal cord vibration, which is influenced by these physical dimensions: a smaller larynx and shorter, thinner vocal cords produce higher pitches, while a larger larynx and longer, thicker vocal cords produce lower pitches.234

Consequently, the transition tones and overall range of male voice types are situated almost precisely one octave lower than those of their female counterparts.1