SCOTS are living longer than ever before and the number of people in the country aged 100 or more is approaching the thousand mark.
Figures published yesterday by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) estimate that there were 910 centenarians living in Scotland in 2016, an increase of 57 per cent on the estimate of 580 made in 2006.
The increase in centenarians is reflected in the increased longevity of the population as a whole, with Scottish men on average living longer than ever but still having shorter lifespans than women.
The figures show that over the past 35 years life expectancy in Scotland has increased by eight years for males and 5.9 years for females.
Life expectancy for those born in 2014-2016 was 77.1 years for males and 81.2 years for females.
Female life expectancy has remained higher than male life expectancy throughout the last 35 years. However, the gap between them has decreased from 6.2 years for people born in 1980-1982 to 4.1 years for people born in 2014-2016
Over the last ten years, the male centenarian population has more than doubled – from 50 in 2006 to 120 in 2016 – while the female population increased by 49 per cent from 530 in 2006 to 790 in 2016.
The fact that there are many more women who live for more than 100 years than men reflects the longer life expectancy of females. In 2016, there were 790 female centenarians – some 87 per cent of all centenarians – compared with 120 men aged 100 or over.
The ratio of male to female centenarians has increased to 15 men per 100 women in 2016 compared to 9 men per 100 women in 2006. This indicates that the gap between men and women’s life expectancy has decreased.
Since 2006, the number of centenarians relative to the rest of the population has increased from 1.1 to 1.7 centenarians for every 10,000 people in the total population in 2016.
The number of people aged 90 to 99 increased from 28,430 in 2006 to 40,160 in 2016, an increase of 41 per cent.
The number of men aged 90 to 99 increased from 6570 to 11,900 between 2006 and 2016, an increase of 81 per cent. The number of females aged 90 to 99 increased from 21,860 to 28,260 during the same period, an increase of 29 per cent.
Centenarians make up a larger proportion of the population at UK level – 2.27 per 10,000 population – than in Scotland where the figure is 1.7 per 10,000 population.
Between 2006 and 2016 the 57 per cent increase in the number of centenarians in Scotland was slightly lower than in the UK as a whole where the increase was 60 per cent.
The 2014-based population projections for Scotland project that life expectancy will continue to increase, reaching 82.3 years for males and 85.0 years for females by 2039.
Life expectancy at birth in Scotland is 2.1 years lower than the UK figure for males (79.2 years) and 1.7 years lower than the UK figure for females (82.9).
Tim Ellis, the Registrar General of Scotland, said: “The statistics published today show life expectancy has steadily improved over the past three decades, increasing by eight years for males and 5.9 years for females, and the gap between male and female life expectancy has also decreased.
“Most recently (2014-16), a baby girl born in Scotland could expect to live for 81.2 years and a baby boy could expect to live until he was 77.1 years. Whilst it is good news that people in Scotland are living longer, recent trends show the increase in life expectancy has been slowing in Scotland as well as the rest of the UK.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here