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The number of men living to very old ages in the UK is rising faster than women, data shows, helping push the elderly population to a new record high.
About 210,520 men are projected to be age 90 or older in 2024, more than double the number two decades ago in 2004, which was 97,570.
In contrast, the number of women increased by only a third during this period, from 309,300 in 2004 to 414,720 in 2024.
This means that although the majority of the UK’s elderly population is still female, the gender balance has changed over time.
Men made up 24.0% of those aged 90 and over in 2004 – but this will rise to 33.7% by 2024.
A similar change is underway among Britain’s centenarians.
Men made up 10.9% of people aged 100 and older in 2004, or about one in nine.
This rises to 18.4% by 2024: almost one in five.
The latest estimates for older people have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The change in the gender balance of Britain’s aging population is “largely explained by improvements in life expectancy and historical birth patterns”, the ONS said.
“Life expectancy is higher for women, but men’s life expectancy has increased faster than women’s, so the gap is closing.
“This is causing the number of older men to grow faster than the number of older women.”
The total population of people aged 90 and over in the UK has increased by more than half over the past two decades, from 406,870 in 2004 to a record 625,240 in 2024.
At the same time, the number of centenarians has doubled, from 8,330 in 2004 to 16,650 last year, again a record high.
The population aged 100 and over grew rapidly in both 2020 and 2021, reflecting an increase in the number of babies born in the years immediately following the end of World War I in 1918.
But while the number of births declined following the “baby boom” of the post-war years, Britain’s centenarian population has continued to grow.
ONS statistician Kerry Gadsden said, “This increase is largely due to previous improvements in mortality rates that have lasted for several decades, with more people living to longer ages.”
Factors driving this trend include “advances in medical treatments as well as improvements in living standards and public health”.
There were 24.0 centenarians per 100,000 people in the UK in 2024, up from 13.9 per 100,000 in 2004.
The rate varies across the country, with the highest figure in Wales last year at 25.9 centenarians per 100,000 people, followed by England (24.7), Scotland (18.4) and Northern Ireland (15.3).
The ONS said the lower figure for Northern Ireland is explained by a younger population due to higher fertility rates rather than differences in life expectancy.