The number of people in Scotland living for more than a century has reached a new high. Figures from the Registrar General estimate that there were 750 centenarians living in Scotland in 2009.
Duncan Macniven, Registrar General for Scotland, said:-
“The number of centenarians rose from 570 in 2002 to 750 in 2009, an increase of nearly a third. Centenarians are by far the most rapidly increasing age-group of Scotland’s population. Almost 9 out of every 10 centenarians are women but the proportion of men is slowly increasing”
A hundred years ago, Scottish centenarians were extremely rare. However, by the start of the 21st century, there were estimated to be more than 500 people in Scotland who were 100 years old or more – and the number has been rising steadily ever since. However, while the number of centenarians is increasing, there has been a drop in the number of people aged 90-99 over the last three years. This was because fewer babies were born during the First World War.
The overwhelming majority of centenarians are women. In 2009, women accounted for 640 of Scotland’s centenarians (85%) while only around 100 men had reached the milestone. Three quarters of people in their 90s are women. The number of centenarians relative to the rest of the population has increased since 2002, especially over the last few years. But there is still only just over one centenarian for every 10,000 people.
