More favorable living conditions and medical advances are driving life expectancy among Germans to a new high. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 23,500 people reached the age of 100 and over last year.
The population in Germany is getting older: the number of people who are at least a hundred years old has recently reached a new high. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, a good 23,500 people aged 100 or older lived in Germany last year. That was around 3,000 more people than in the previous year. The number of people who were at least a hundred years old was at the highest level in the past ten years.
At 80.2 percent, the vast majority of those over the age of 100 were female; almost 18,900 women were most recently in the 100+ age group. Reasons for this include the higher life expectancy of women and the “loss of men” due to the Second World War.
Nevertheless, the proportion of men among those who are at least a hundred years old has also risen steadily over the past ten years. In 2011 it was still 13 percent, in 2021 the proportion had risen to 19.8 percent.
Overall, the increased life expectancy is therefore due to generally improved living conditions, increasing prosperity and medical advances. The statistical office has been collecting specific data on people over the age of 100 since 2011.
