It is well known that women tend to live longer than men.
And the extent to which this is true is revealed in the latest census data which shows that women who have reached the age of 100 outnumber men by a ratio of 23 to one.
The total number of centenarians has soared from 11,186 to 13,924 in a decade, according to 2021 figures.
Of the total, 11,288 women were women, while only 2,636 men had reached the age limit. The overall increase over the previous century was an astonishing 27 times, compared to only 110 in 1921.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics, published yesterday, also seems to suggest that living near the coast could be the secret to a long life.
Women made up 11,288 of the total, while only 2,636 men had reached the age limit (File image)
Nine of the ten towns with the most centenaries are on the coast, and the top three are all on the English south coast.
There were 64 people who had reached the age of 100 or over per 100,000 people in East Devon, 59 per 100,000 in Arun in West Sussex and 57 per 100,000 in the New Forest, the ONS said.
Birmingham had the highest number of centenarians overall, 193, but only 17 per 100,000 inhabitants.
According to the ONS, there are eight municipalities with fewer than ten centenarians per 100,000 inhabitants.
Of these, the ONS said six were London boroughs: Newham (five per 100,000); Tower Hamlets (six); Rental machine (eight); Islington (nine); Lambeth (nine); and Lewisham (9.6).
The data revealed that two in five centenarians (41.6 percent) lived alone in private homes. One in ten (10.9 percent) lived with another person, most commonly their children or other family members.
Meanwhile, two in five (39.1 percent) lived in “communal establishments” such as nursing homes. Most people over 100 were widowed, but 18.4 percent of men were married, compared to only 3.7 percent of women.
In total, 905 centenarians were married, although many couples no longer live together and often one of the spouses moves to a nursing home.
Many centenarians claim that staying active is the secret to their long life. The United Kingdom has the seventh highest number of centenarians in the world (File image)
But there are 14 couples in which both spouses are over 100 years old and still living together at home. One in four centenarians said they were in good health, the ONS said, and “surprisingly, three in ten said they had no disability.”
Nine in ten were born in the UK, 1.3 per cent were born in Ireland, 2.4 per cent in another European country and 2.5 per cent in the Middle East and Asia. More than one in four women over 100 years of age (28 percent) had never worked, while among those who had, the largest number (25.9 percent) had been secretaries.
Among centenarian males, 21.9 percent were qualified tradesmen and 15.8 percent were professionals.
The UK has the seventh highest number of centenarians in the world, with Japan topping the list followed by Guadeloupe and Uruguay.
Many centenarians claim that staying active is the secret to their long life, including former World War II Mosquito pilot Colin Bell, who became the oldest person to participate in abseil last week at age 102.
Flight Lieutenant Bell last week abseiled 280 feet from the Royal London Hospital helipad in Whitechapel, east London, to help raise money for charities.
Bell, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during the war, said: “I may be 102 years old, but I still want to do my bit to raise much-needed funds for three incredible charities.”
