If you want to turn 100 and receive a telegram from the King, a biological difference could be key to your success.
Women are four times more likely than men to become centenarians, according to official figures revealed today.
More than 12,000 women in England and Wales will reach this milestone by 2023.
By contrast, just over 2,700 men reached 100 in the two countries, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
This means the number of centenarians has more than doubled since 2002, with 14,850 last year.
At 115, Ethel Caterham, from Surrey, is the oldest living person in the UK following the death of 112-year-old Mollie Walker on January 22, 2022.
Statisticians say this overall increase is due to improvements in mortality dating back decades.
But the figure also marks a slight drop (0.5 percent) compared to 2022, when 14,920 adults in England and Wales reached the historic age.
It is also the first time in six years that the total number of people over 100 years of age has decreased. In 2018, this was attributed to the low number of births during the First World War.
Despite the slowdown, figures showed there were more 103-year-olds in the two countries than ever before (1,440).
By country, for every 100,000 people, there are 26 that have reached the centenary milestone in Wales.
In England the rate stood at 24 people per 100,000.
There were also 551,760 nonagenarians, people over 90, living in the two nations in 2023, the highest number ever recorded.
Women were also twice as likely (383,250) to reach this milestone as men (183,510).
Stephen Lowe, communications director at retirement specialist group Just Group, said: ‘Our centenarian population has increased significantly since the millennium.
‘Although the number of centenarians is stabilizing as the impact of the high post-World War I birth rate diminishes, it still illustrates that there are some demographic issues that our society must address to care for an aging population.
‘The clear and significant disproportion between female and male centenarians highlights some of the particular challenges that women are likely to face in their older years.
‘Even if we are young today, most of us hope to be lucky enough to live a long life.
“The combined factors of longer life expectancy and lower personal savings mean that women are more vulnerable to poverty in old age.”
The global average life expectancy is forecast to increase to around 78.1 years in 2050. Pictured, Ethel Caterham celebrates her 115th birthday in August.
Earlier this year, research suggested that life expectancy around the world will increase by almost five years by 2050, with the average man predicted to live to be 76 and women to be over 80.
Global average life expectancy is projected to increase to around 78.1 years in 2050, an increase of 4.5 years. Lancet Public Health The study also found.
At the time, experts said the trend was largely driven by public health measures that prevented and improved survival rates from diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, nutritional diseases, and maternal and neonatal infections.
Commentators also said the figures present an “immense opportunity” to “get ahead of the rise in metabolic and dietary risk factors” such as high blood pressure and BMI.
The oldest living person in the world is now the Japanese Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908 and is 116 years old.
At 115, Ethel Caterham, from Surrey, is the oldest living person in the UK following the death of 112-year-old Mollie Walker on January 22, 2022.
The oldest living person in the world is now the Japanese Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908 and is 116 years old.
The title of the oldest person who has ever lived belongs to Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, whose life spanned 122 years and 164 days.
Mrs Caterham, who died in 1997, attributed her longevity to “never arguing with anyone, I listen and do what I like”.
Experts who have studied centenarians agree.
Physical activity, faith, love, companionship and a sense of purpose form the backbone of so-called “Blue Zones,” or areas of the world where people typically live to be 100 or older.
Maintaining an active lifestyle, even just walking around town every day, has been shown to improve longevity.
Companionship has been shown to have an equally positive effect on a person’s life expectancy, and studies consistently show that loneliness is toxic.