Data reveals a record number of people over the age of 90 – and women still live longer
The ONS said Wales had a higher proportion of centenarians than in England
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England and Wales. has a record number of people aged 90 and older has reached a new record high, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
There were 551,758 in this “very old” category in 2023, up from 550,830 the previous year, the ONS added.
The half a million point was reached in 2015 and the latest total is up from 350,700 when records began in 2002.
The latest estimates suggest there were 14,850 centenarians – people aged 100 or older – in England and Wales in 2023, which was down by 0.5% on 2022 numbers.
Among these, an estimated 560 people were aged 105 or older.
The ONS said Wales had a higher proportion of centenarians than in England, with 26 people aged 100 and over per 100,000 population compared with 24 in England.
Some 9.7% of those aged 100 and over were part of the large post-First World War birth cohort of people aged 103 in 2023, the ONS said.
As this group ages and people die, the effect on the size of the centenarian population continues to reduce, it added.
There were just over twice as many women as men aged 90 and over in 2023, while there were 4.5 women to every man aged 100 and over in England and Wales last year.
The ONS stats reported:
- In 2023, the estimated population aged 90 years and over in England and Wales was 551,758; this was a slight increase of 0.2% from 2022, compared with a 2.1% increase in the previous year.
- There were an estimated 14,850 centenarians in England and Wales in 2023; this is more than double the number of centenarians in 2002, but is a 0.5% decrease compared with 2022.
- The large post-First World War birth cohort, aged 103 years in 2023, accounted for 9.7% of those aged 100 years and over; as this cohort ages and decreases in size, the effect on the size of the centenarian population continues to reduce.
- There were just over twice as many females than males aged 90 years and over in 2023; this gap between males and females continues to reduce over time, from more than three times the number of females than males aged 90 years and over in 2002.
- The sex ratio at the oldest ages continued to narrow in 2023, with 4.5 women to every man aged 100 years and over in England and Wales, compared with 4.6 in 2022.
- In 2023, Wales had 26 people aged 100 years and over per 100,000 population; this was a higher proportion of centenarians than in England, which had 24 centenarians per 100,000 population.
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