Record Number of Centenarians in Scotland

19 November 2008

The number of people living for more than a century has reached a record high. New figures from the Registrar General estimate that there were 710 centenarians living in Scotland in 2007.

Duncan Macniven, Registrar General for Scotland, said:

“The number of centenarians rose from 560 in 2002 to 710 in 2007, an increase of more than a quarter. This is one example of the ageing of Scotland’s population. Almost 9 out of every 10 centenarians are women”.

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, the number of people aged 90-99 decreased for the first time in recent years. This was because fewer babies were born during the First World War.

The overwhelming majority of centenarians were women. In 2007, women accounted for 630 of Scotland’s centenarians (almost 90%) while only around 80 men had reached the milestone. Three quarters of people in their 90s are women.

The full report, "Centenarians in Scotland, 2002-2007" can be viewed on this website.

Media Enquiries for this news release.