Centenarian

A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide in 2012,[1] and 573,000 in 2020, almost quadruple the 2000 estimate of 151,000.[2]

As world population and life expectancy continue to increase, the number of centenarians is expected to increase substantially in the 21st century.[3] According to the Office of National Statistics in the United Kingdom, one-third of babies born in the country in 2013 are expected to live to 100.[4]

According to a 1998 United Nations demographic survey, Japan is expected to have 272,000 centenarians by 2050;[5] other sources suggest that the number could be closer to 1 million.[6] The incidence of centenarians in Japan was one per 3,522 people in 2008.[7]

In Japan, the number of centenarians is highly skewed towards females. Japan in fiscal year 2016 had 57,525 female centenarians, while there were 8,167 males, a ratio of 7:1. The increase of centenarians was even more skewed at 11.6:1.[8]

  1. ^ "Chapter 1: Setting the Scene" (PDF). UNFPA. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". population.un.org. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Life expectancy to soar". BBC News. 9 May 2002.
  4. ^ "[Archived Content] One third of babies born in 2013 are expected to live to 100". ONS. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Demographics of older persons". UN. 1 October 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Japan centenarians at record high". BBC News. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  7. ^ De plus en plus de centenaires au Japon (PDF) Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Agence France Presse via Avmaroc.com. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Aging Japan now has 65692 centenarians". The Japan Times. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2017.