Number of centenarians in England, Wales reaches record high

The number of centenarians (people over 100 years old) in England and Wales reached a record high in 2021, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, Report informs via Interfax.

The country's rapidly aging population is likely to drive up health and welfare costs in the coming decades, writes the Financial Times.

The number of people aged over 100 in 2021 was 13,924, which is 24.5% higher than in 2011. According to the ONS, the figure is 127 times higher than in 1921, when there were 110 centenarians recorded in England and Wales.

The rise in the number of centenarians is largely due to advances in health care, the ONS report notes.

The UK ranks seventh in the world in terms of the number of centenarians and ninth in terms of their share of the total population.