Decrease in number of Scottish Centenarians

The number of people aged 100 and over has dropped to 810 in 2018 from 860 in 2017, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland.

The largest number of centenarians on record was 920 in 2014. The decrease since then corresponds to lower birth rates during the First World War and a recent stall in life expectancy.

Despite the slight decline in recent years, the number of centenarians has increased by 17% since 2008 and is 4.8 times as many as when records began in 1981.

There are many more women who live for over 100 years than men, reflecting the longer life expectancy of females. In 2018, there were 690 female centenarians (85% of all centenarians) compared with 120 men.

The male centenarian population increased by 20% over the past decade (from 100 in 2008 to 120 in 2018), while the female population had a slightly lower growth rate of 17% (from 590 in 2008 to 690 in 2018).

Since 2008, the number of centenarians relative to the total population has increased from 1.3 to 1.5 centenarians for every 10,000 people in Scotland in 2018.

As well as the number of centenarians, the publication also provides estimates of the very old population, those people aged 90 and over.

Centenarians make up a larger proportion of the population at UK level (2.0 per 10,000 population) than in Scotland (1.5 per 10,000 population). Between 2008 and 2018 the percentage increase in the number of centenarians in Scotland (17%) was lower than in the UK as a whole (27%).