The population of England and Wales aged 100 and over has reached a new high, after doubling in size in the past two decades, figures show.
There were an estimated 15,330 centenarians alive last year, up 4% from 14,800 in 2023, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figure has jumped just over 100% in 20 years, having stood at 7,630 in 2004.
It is also up by more than a third (38%) in the past five years.
Much of this rapid growth is a legacy of the spike in babies born in the years immediately after the end of the First World War in 1918.
This led to a sharp rise in the number of people turning 100 in 2020 and 2021.
The volume of births started to drop in the early 1920s and this is reflected in a slowdown in recent years in the rate of increase in the number of people reaching 100, the ONS data shows.
There continues to be a large gap between females and males among centenarians in England and Wales.
Some 12,500 women were estimated to be 100 or over last year, compared with 2,830 men – the equivalent of 4.4 females for every one male.
However the gap has decreased over time and is now at its narrowest since comparable data began in 2002.
A decade ago in 2014, there were 5.7 female centenarians for every one male, while two decades ago in 2004 the figure was 8.1.
