According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, the number of centenarians could increase by more than sevenfold by 2035. One in three babies born in the UK this year will live to 100 says the report.
The report, published this week, shows that 39% of girls born in 2012 are expected to live to celebrate their 100 birthday, compared to 32% of boys.
The number of centenarians in the UK has been steadily rising, from just 600 in 1961 to 13,000 in 2010, the last available mid-year estimate. The number of centenarians in the UK is forecast to increase more than sevenfold between 2012 and 2035, from 14,500 to 110,000. By 2060, the number is projected to rise to 456,000.
In their report entitled “What are the chances of surviving to age 100?”, the ONS says that more than 95,000 people who are aged 65 in 2012 are expected to live to 100. It predicts that 10% of this year’s 395,000 male 65-year-olds and 14% of its 417,000 female 65-year-olds will survive until 2047.
But David Sinclair, head of policy and research at the International Longevity Centre UK, warns a long life may not be all good news. “It is of course good news that so many people are living longer,” he says. “But now that we are getting so much better at keeping people alive, we will be older but in worse health and at high risk of living alone.”
“The other problem is that we are very poor at forward planning. When you're talking about forecasts for a time half a century away and more, I see no evidence that we are putting in place the measures to deal with it,” he explained.