Number of Scottish centenarians at near record level

Figures published today by the National Records of Scotland estimate that in 2016 there were 910 centenarians living in Scotland, an increase of 57 per cent from the estimate of 580 in 2006.

The male centenarian population more than doubled (from 50 in 2006 to 120 in 2016), while the female population increased by 49 per cent (from 530 in 2006 to 790 in 2016).

There are many more women who live for over 100 years than men, reflecting the longer life expectancy of females. In 2016, there were 790 female centenarians (87 per cent of all centenarians) compared with 120 men aged 100 or over.

The ratio of male to female centenarians has increased to 15 men per 100 women in 2016 compared to 9 men per 100 women in 2006. This indicates that the gap between men and women’s life expectancy has decreased.

Since 2006, the number of centenarians relative to the rest of the population has increased from 1.1 to 1.7 centenarians for every 10,000 people in the total population in 2016.

The number of people aged 90 to 99 increased from 28,430 in 2006 to 40,160 in 2016, an increase of 41 per cent.

The number of men aged 90 to 99 increased from 6,570 to 11,900 between 2006 and 2016, an increase of 81 per cent. The number of females aged 90 to 99 increased from 21,860 to 28,260 during the same period, an increase of 29 per cent.

Centenarians make up a larger proportion of the population at UK level (2.27 per 10,000 population) than in Scotland (1.7 per 10,000 population). Between 2006 and 2016 the percentage increase in the number of centenarians in Scotland (57 per cent) was slightly lower than in the UK as a whole (60 per cent).

Background

The full report, “Centenarians in Scotland 2006 to 2016”, is available in the Centenarians section of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) website.