Centenarian - wikipedia Centenarian Socialist Muriel Duckworth, at age 100 French writer François Fertiault at age 100 Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at 100 A centenarian is a person who lives to or beyond the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are less than 100, the term is associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide. As life expectancy is increasing across the world, and the world population has also increased rapidly, the number of centenarians is expected to increase quickly in the future. According to the UK ONS, one - third of babies born in 2013 in the UK are expected to live to 100. Contents 1 Supercentenarian 2 Current incidence 2.1 Gender skew 2.2 Centenarian populations by country 3 State recognition 4 Traditions and rituals 5 Centenarians in ancient times 6 Research 6.1 Research in Italy 6.2 DNA repair 7 Japanese bio-study 7.1 Centenarian controversy in Japan 8 Epigenetic studies 9 Media references 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links Supercentenarian A supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Even rarer is a person who has lived to age 115 -- there are only 43 people in recorded history who have indisputably reached this age, of whom only Nabi Tajima, Chiyo Miyako, Ana María Vela Rubio and Giuseppina Projetto are still living. There has only been one known case of a person of 120 years of age or older, Jeanne Calment, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days. Current incidence Japan currently has the greatest number of known centenarians of any nation with 67,824 according to their 2017 census, along with the highest proportion of centenarians at 34.85 per 100,000 people. Japan started recording its centenarians in 1963. The number of Japanese centenarians in that year was 153, but surpassed the 10,000 mark in 1998 ; 20,000 in 2003 ; and 40,000 in 2009. According to a 1998 United Nations demographic survey, Japan is expected to have 272,000 centenarians by 2050 ; other sources suggest that the number could be closer to 1 million. The incidence of centenarians in Japan was one per 3,522 people in 2008. Gender skew In Japan, the number of centenarians is highly skewed towards females. Japan in fiscal year 2016 had 57,525 female centenarians, while males were 8,167, a ratio of 7 : 1. The increase of centenarians was even more skewed at 11.6 : 1. Centenarian populations by country The total number of living centenarians in the world remains uncertain. It was estimated by the Population Division of the United Nations as 23,000 in 1950, 110,000 in 1990, 150,000 in 1995, 209,000 in 2000, 324,000 in 2005 and 455,000 in 2009. However, these older estimates did not take into account the contemporary downward adjustments of national estimates made by several countries such as the United States ; thus, in 2012, the UN estimated there to be only 316,600 centenarians worldwide. The following table gives estimated centenarian populations by country, including both the latest and the earliest known estimates, where available. Country Latest estimate ( year ) Earliest estimate ( year ) Centenarians per 100,000 people Andorra 7 ( 2002 ) -- 10.23 Argentina 3,487 ( 2010 ) -- 8.69 Australia 4,252 ( 2011 ) 1901 50 ( 1901 ) 18.75 Austria 1,371 ( 2014 ) 232 ( 1990 ), 1960 25 ( 1960 ) 16.1 Belgium 2,001 ( 1 January 2015 ) 1950 23 ( 1950 ) 16.9 Brazil 23,760 ( 2010 ) -- 12.46 Canada 7,569 ( 2011 ) -- 22.31 China 48,921 ( 2011 ) 1990 4,469 ( 1990 ), 17,800 ( 2007 ) 3.63 Czech Republic 625 ( 2011 ) 2006 404 ( 2006 ) 5.92 Denmark 889 ( 2010 ) 32 ( 1941 ) 16.08 Estonia 150 ( 2016 ) 42 ( 1990 ) 11.44 Finland 759 ( 2015 ) 1960 11 ( 1960 ) 13.8 France 21,393 ( 1 January 2016 ) 1900 100 ( 1900 ) 32.1 Germany 17,000 ( 2012 ) 1885 232 ( 1885 ) 21 Hungary 1516 ( 2013 ) 1990 227 ( 1990 ), 76 ( 1949 ) 15.32 Iceland 32 ( 2015 ) 1960 3 ( 1960 ) 9.72 India 27,000 ( 2015 ) 2.1 Ireland 389 ( 2011 ) 87 ( 1990 ) 8.48 Israel 2,143 ( 2011 ) 27.6 Italy 25,000 ( 2015 ) 19,095 ( 2015 ), 1872 99 ( 1872 ) 31.41 Japan 67,824 ( 2017 ) 54,397 ( 2013 ) 1950 111 ( 1950 ), 155 ( 1960 ) 48 Mexico 7,441 ( 2010 ) 1990 2,403 ( 1990 ) 6.62 Netherlands 1,743 ( 2010 ) 1830 18 ( 1830 ) 10.41 New Zealand 297 ( 1991 ) 1960 18 ( 1960 ) 5.92 Norway 636 ( 2010 ) 1951 44 ( 1951 ) 13.1 Peru 1,682 ( 2011 ) -- 5.58 Poland 2,414 ( 2009 ) 1970 500 ( 1970 ) 6.27 Portugal 4,066 ( 2015 ) -- 38.9 Russia 6,800 ( 2007 ) - 4.76 Singapore 724 ( 2011 ) 1990 41 ( 1990 ) 13.7 Slovenia 224 ( 2013 ) 1953 2 ( 1953 ) 10.88 South Africa 15,581 ( 2011 ) - 30.09 South Korea 3,861 ( 2014 ) -- 961 7.72 Spain 17,423 ( 2016 ) 4,269 ( 2002 ) 37.49 Sweden 1,953 ( 2014 ) 1950 46 ( 1950 ) 20.0 Switzerland 1,306 ( 2010 ) 1860 7 ( 1860 ) 16.64 Thailand 17,883 ( 2012 ) 26.80 Turkey 5,293 ( 2015 ) - 6.72 United Kingdom 13,780 ( 2013 ) 1911 107 ( 1911 ) 21.49 United States 72,000 ( 2015 ) 53,364 ( 2010 ), 1950 2,300 ( 1950 ) 22 Uruguay 519 ( 2011 ) -- 15.79 World Estimates 451,000 ( 2015 ) 316,600 ( 2012 ), 1950 23,000 ( 1950 ) 6.2 State recognition 100th birthday card from U.S. President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford In many countries, people receive a gift or congratulations from state institutions on their 100th birthday. In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, the British ( and Commonwealth ) monarch sends greetings ( formerly as a telegram ) on the 100th birthday and on every birthday beginning with the 105th. The tradition of Royal congratulations dates from 1908, when the Secretary for King Edward VII sent a congratulatory letter to Reverend Thomas Lord of Horncastle in a newspaper clipping, declaring, `` I am commanded by the King to congratulate you on the attainment of your hundredth year, after a most useful life. '' The practice was formalised from 1917, under the reign of King George V, who also sent congratulations on the attainment of a 60th Wedding anniversary. Queen Elizabeth II sends a greeting card style with the notation : `` I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one - hundredth birthday, I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion '', thereafter each few years the card is updated with a current picture of the Queen to ensure people do not receive the same card more than once. The Queen further sends her congratulations on one 's 105th birthday and every year thereafter as well as on special wedding anniversaries ; people must apply for greetings three weeks before the event, on the official British Monarch 's website. In the United States, centenarians traditionally receive a letter from the President, congratulating them for their longevity. Centenarians born in Ireland receive a € 2,540 `` Centenarians ' Bounty '' and a letter from the President of Ireland, even if they are resident abroad. Japanese centenarians receive a silver cup and a certificate from the Prime Minister of Japan upon the Respect for the Aged Day following their 100th birthday, honouring them for their longevity and prosperity in their lives. Swedish centenarians receive a telegram from the King and Queen of Sweden. Centenarians born in Italy receive a letter from the President of Italy. Traditions and rituals An aspect of blessing in many cultures is to offer a wish that the recipient lives to 100 years old. Among Hindus, people who touch the feet of elders are often blessed with `` May you live a hundred years ''. In Sweden, the traditional birthday song states, May he / she live for one hundred years. In Judaism, the term May you live to be 120 years old is a common blessing. In Poland, Sto lat, a wish to live a hundred years, is a traditional form of praise and good wishes, and the song `` sto lat, sto lat '' is sung on the occasion of the birthday celebrations -- arguably, it is the most popular song in Poland and among Poles around the globe. Chinese emperors were hailed to live ten thousand years, while empresses were hailed to live a thousand years. In Italy, `` A hundred of these days ! '' ( cento di questi giorni ) is an augury for birthdays, to live to celebrate 100 more birthdays. Some Italians say `` Cent'anni ! '', which means `` a hundred years '', in that they wish that they could all live happily for a hundred years. In Greece, wishing someone Happy Birthday ends with the expression να τα εκατοστήσεις ( na ta ekatostisis ), which can be loosely translated as `` may you make it one hundred birthdays ''. Centenarians in ancient Times While the number of centenarians per capita was much lower in ancient times than today, the data suggest that they were not unheard of. However, ancient demographics and chronicles are biased in favor of wealthy or powerful individuals rather than the ordinary person. A rare glimpse of an ordinary person is the legionary veteran Julius Valens whose tombstone states he lived 100 years - `` VIXIT ANNIS C ''. Grmek and Gourevitch speculate that during the Classical Greek period, anyone who lived past the age of five years -- surviving all the common childhood illnesses of that era -- had a reasonable chance of living to a relatively old age. Life expectancy in 400 BC was estimated to be around 30 years. One demographer of ancient civilizations reported that Greek men lived to 45 years on average ( based on a sample size of 91 ), while women lived to 36.2 years ( based on a sample size of 55 ). Notably, the gender statistics are inverted compared to today -- childbirth at the time had a far higher mortality rate than in modern times, skewing female statistics downward. It was common for average citizens to take great care in their hygiene, Mediterranean diet and exercise, although there was much more male trauma per capita than today, due to military service being virtually universal for citizens of Ancient Greece. This also biased the statistics for men downward. Diogenes Laertius ( c. AD 250 ) gives one of the earliest references regarding the plausible centenarian longevity given by a scientist, the astronomer Hipparchus of Nicea ( c. 185 -- c. 120 BC ), who, according to the doxographer, assured that the philosopher Democritus of Abdera ( c. 470 / 460 -- c. 370 / 360 BC ) lived 109 years. All other ancient accounts of Democritus appear to agree that the philosopher lived at least 90 years. However, such longevity would not be dramatically out of line with that of other ancient Greek philosophers thought to have lived beyond the age of 90 ( e.g. Xenophanes of Colophon, c. 570 / 565 -- c. 475 / 470 BC ; Pyrrho of Ellis, c. 360 - c. 270 BC ; Eratosthenes of Cirene c. 285 -- c. 190 BC ). The case of Democritus differs from those of, for example, Epimenides of Crete ( 7th and 6th centuries BC ), who is said to have lived an implausible 154, 157 or 290 years, depending on the source. Numerous other historical figures were reputed to have lived past 100. The sixth dynasty Egyptian ruler Pepi II is believed by some Egyptologists to have lived to 100 or more ( c. 2278 -- c. 2184 BC ), as he is said to have reigned for 94 years. However this is disputed : others say he only reigned 64 years. Hosius of Córdoba, the man who convinced Constantine the Great to call the First Council of Nicaea, reportedly lived to age 102. The Chronicon of Bernold of Constance records the death in 1097 of Azzo marchio de Longobardia, pater Welfonis ducis de Baiowaria, commenting that he was iam maior centenario. Ultimately, there is no reason to believe that centenarians did not exist in antiquity, even if they were not commonplace. Research Main article : Research into centenarians Research in Italy Research in Italy suggests that healthy centenarians have high levels of both vitamin A and vitamin E and that this seems to be important in causing their extreme longevity. Other research contradicts this, however, and has found that this theory does not apply to centenarians from Sardinia, for whom other factors probably play a more important role. A preliminary study carried out in Poland showed that, in comparison with young healthy female adults, centenarians living in Upper Silesia had significantly higher red blood cell glutathione reductase and catalase activities, although serum levels of vitamin E were not significantly higher. Researchers in Denmark have also found that centenarians exhibit a high activity of glutathione reductase in red blood cells. In this study, the centenarians having the best cognitive and physical functional capacity tended to have the highest activity of this enzyme. Other research has found that people whose parents became centenarians have an increased number of naïve B cells. It is well known that the children of parents who have a long life are also likely to reach a healthy age, but it is not known why, although the inherited genes are probably important. A variation in the gene FOXO3 A is known to have a positive effect on the life expectancy of humans, and is found much more often in people living to 100 and beyond - moreover, this appears to be true worldwide. Men and women who are 100 or older tend to have extroverted personalities, according to Thomas T. Perls, the director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University. Centenarians will often have many friends, strong ties to relatives and high self - esteem. In addition, some research suggests that the offspring of centenarians are more likely to age in better cardiovascular health than their peers. DNA repair Lymphoblastoid cell lines established from blood samples of centenarians have significantly higher activity of the DNA repair protein PARP ( Poly ADP ribose polymerase ) than cell lines from younger ( 20 to 70 years old ) individuals. The lymphocytic cells of centenarians have characteristics typical of cells from young people, both in their capability of priming the mechanism of repair after H O sublethal oxidative DNA damage and in their PARP capacity. PARP activity measured in the permeabilized mononuclear leukocyte blood cells of thirteen mammalian species correlated with maximum lifespan of the species. These findings suggest that PARP mediated DNA repair activity contributes to the longevity of centenarians, consistent with the DNA damage theory of aging. Japanese bio-study Many experts attribute Japan 's high life expectancy to the typical Japanese diet, which is particularly low in refined simple carbohydrates, and to hygienic practices. The number of centenarians in relation to the total population was, in September 2010, 114 % higher in Shimane Prefecture than the national average. This ratio was also 92 % higher in Okinawa Prefecture. In Okinawa, studies have shown five factors that have contributed to the large number of centenarians in that region : A diet that is heavy on grains, fish, and vegetables and light on meat, eggs, and dairy products. Low - stress lifestyles, which are proven significantly less stressful than that of the mainland inhabitants of Japan. A caring community, where older adults are not isolated and are taken better care of. High levels of activity, where locals work until an older age than the average age in other countries, and more emphasis on activities like walking and gardening to keep active. Spirituality, where a sense of purpose comes from involvement in spiritual matters and prayer eases the mind of stress and problems. Although these factors vary from those mentioned in the previous study, the culture of Okinawa has proven these factors to be important in its large population of centenarians. A historical study from Korea found that male eunuchs in the royal court had a centenarian rate of over 3 %, and that eunuchs lived on average 14 to 19 years longer than uncastrated men. Centenarian controversy in Japan The number of Japanese centenarians was called into question in 2010, following a series of reports showing that hundreds of thousands of elderly people had gone `` missing '' in the country. The deaths of many centenarians had not been reported, casting doubt on the country 's reputation for having a large population of centenarians. In July 2010, Sogen Kato, a centenarian listed as the oldest living male in Tokyo, registered to be aged 111, was found to have died some 30 years before ; his body was found mummified in its bed, resulting in a police investigation into centenarians listed over the age of 105. Soon after the discovery, the Japanese police found that at least 200 other Japanese centenarians were `` missing '', and began a nationwide search in early August 2010. Epigenetic studies By measuring the biological age of various tissues from centenarians, researchers may be able to identify tissues that are protected from aging effects. According to a study of 30 different body parts from centenarians and younger controls, the cerebellum is the youngest brain region ( and probably body part ) in centenarians ( about 15 years younger than expected ) according to an epigenetic biomarker of tissue age known as epigenetic clock. These findings could explain why the cerebellum exhibits fewer neuropathological hallmarks of age related dementias compared to other brain regions. Further, the offspring of semi-supercentenarians ( subjects who reached an age of 105 -- 109 years ) have a lower epigenetic age than age - matched controls ( age difference = 5.1 years in peripheral blood mononuclear cells ) and centenarians are younger ( 8.6 years ) than expected based on their chronological age. Media references Centenarians are often the subject of news stories, which often focus on the fact that they are over 100 years old. Along with the typical birthday celebrations, these reports provide researchers and cultural historians with evidence as to how the rest of society views this elderly population. Some examples : 107 - year - old Arkansas man Monroe Isadore dies in shootout with SWAT 101 - year - old, Japanese man Funchu Tamang rescued from the Nepal earthquake in 2015 In 2015, Japanese man Hidekichi Miyazaki, a masters athlete broke a new record as oldest sprinter winning the 100m at 105 and earns a place in the Guinness World Record book, his record has since been surpassed by American Donald Pellmann William A. `` Bill '' Del Monte, the last known survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, passed at a retirement faculty in Marin County in 2016 at the age of 109. In 2015 Mieko Nagaoka, a 100 - year - old Japanese woman, became the first centenarian to complete a 1500m swim in a 25 - meter pool ; specifically, she completed 30 laps of the pool in 1 hour, 15 minutes, 54 seconds, in a masters event in Matsuyama, Japan. In May 2015 Marjorie `` Bo '' Gilbert, from South Wales, became the first centenarian to appear in the magazine Vogue, when she was featured as part of an advertisement for the department store Harvey Nichols. On April 30, 2016, Ida Keeling became the first woman in history to complete a 100 - meter run at the age of 100. Her time of 1 : 17.33 was witnessed by a crowd of 44,469 at the 2016 Penn Relays. This time was the best ever recorded in the 100 - meter dash for any female age 100 or older. In 2017, Julia Hawkins ( age 101 ) became the oldest woman ever in the USA Track and Field Outdoors Masters Championships, and ran the 100 meters in 40.12 seconds. Previously that year she had run the 100 meters in 39.62 seconds. That is a new world record for women 100 or older. 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Jump up ^ Grube K, Bürkle A ( 1992 ). `` Poly ( ADP - ribose ) polymerase activity in mononuclear leukocytes of 13 mammalian species correlates with species - specific life span ''. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89 ( 24 ) : 11759 -- 63. PMC 50636. PMID 1465394. doi : 10.1073 / pnas. 89.24. 11759. Jump up ^ Bernstein H, Payne CM, Bernstein C, Garewal H, Dvorak K ( 2008 ). Cancer and aging as consequences of un-repaired DNA damage. In : New Research on DNA Damages ( Editors : Honoka Kimura and Aoi Suzuki ) Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York, Chapter 1, pp. 1 - 47. open access, but read only https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=43247 ISBN 978 - 1 - 60456 - 581 - 2 ^ Jump up to : Santrock, John ( 2008 ). `` Physical Development and Biological Aging ''. In Mike Ryan, Michael J. Sugarman, Maureen Spada, and Emily Pecora ( eds. ) : A Topical Approach to Life - Span Development ( pp. 129 - 132 ). New York : McGraw - Hill Companies, Inc. Jump up ^ Japan Times ( 15 September 2010 ). `` Centenarians to Hit Record 44,000 ''. Retrieved 6 February 2013. Jump up ^ In 2006, official data from the Okinawa Prefectural government were slightly inflated because of a methodological flaw. See Willcox, D. Craig ; Willcox, Bradley J. ; He Qimei ; Wang Nien - chiang and Suzuki Makoto. `` They Really Are That Old : A Validation Study of Centenarian Prevalence in Okinawa ''. ( PDF ) The Journals of Gerontology Series A : Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. Vol. 63. 2008. pp. 338 -- 349. Jump up ^ `` Upside to castration ? Eunuchs lived longer, study finds ''. Reuters via NBC. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Jump up ^ Fackler, Martin ( 10 September 2010 ). `` Japan 's Elderly Count Was Off by 234,000 ''. New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` More than 230,000 Japanese centenarians ' missing ' ''. BBC. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010. Jump up ^ Font size Print E-mail Share 2 Comments ( 10 September 2010 ). `` More Than 230,000 Centenarians Missing in Japan ''. CBS News. Retrieved 4 November 2010. Jump up ^ `` 234,000 centenarians listed in registries missing ''. Japan Times. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010. Jump up ^ `` Tokyo 's ' oldest man ' dead for 30 years ''. The Daily Telegraph. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Nearly 200 of Japan 's oldest citizens ' missing ' ''. AFP. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2013. Jump up ^ Horvath S, Mah V, Lu AT, Woo JS, Choi OW, Jasinska AJ, Riancho JA, Tung S, Coles NS, Braun J, Vinters HV, Coles LS ( 2015 ). `` The cerebellum ages slowly according to the epigenetic clock. '' ( PDF ). Age ( Albany US ). 7 ( 5 ) : 294 -- 306. PMC 4468311. PMID 26000617. doi : 10.18632 / aging. 100742. Jump up ^ Horvath, S ( 2013 ). `` DNA methylation age of human tissues and cell types ''. Genome Biology. 14 : R115. PMC 4015143. PMID 24138928. doi : 10.1186 / gb - 2013 - 14 - 10 - r115. Jump up ^ Horvath, S ( 2015 ). `` Decreased epigenetic age of PBMCs from Italian semi-supercentenarians and their offspring. ''. Aging ( Dec ). Jump up ^ `` 107 - year - old Arkansas man dies in shootout with S.W.A.T. ''. Retrieved 8 September 2013. CBS affiliate KTVH 11, 8 September 2013. Includes photo of deceased. Jump up ^ `` 107 - year - old man killed in gun battle with SWAT team ''. Retrieved 9 September 2013. Christian Science Monitor, 8 September 2013. Video, photo of house. Jump up ^ `` SWAT team shoots and kills one of the oldest men in America ''. Daily Mail. London. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013. Daily Mail Online, 8 September 2013. Photos of exterior crime scene. Jump up ^ `` Monroe Isadore, 107 - year - old Arkansas man, killed during shootout with SWAT team ''. CBS News. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013. CBS News, 9 September 2013 Jump up ^ Dominique Mosbergen ( 5 May 2015 ). `` 101 - Year - Old Man Rescued From Rubble With ' Minor Injuries ' 1 Week After Nepal Earthquake ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Miraculous rescue of 101 - year - old man pulled alive from Nepal quake rubble ''. 3 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Japan 105 year old ' Golden Bolt ' sets a sprint record, misses personal best ''. reuturs. 24 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Japans 's 105 - year - old ' Golden Bolt ' sets world record for 100m ''. Jump up ^ `` William Del Monte, Last known Survivor of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Dies at 109 ''. Associated Press. 11 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` William Del Monte ''. The Times. Jump up ^ `` Centenarian swimmer breaks record - CNN.com ''. Edition.cnn.com. April 6, 2015. Retrieved 2015 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Japanese woman, 100, swims 1500m record OlympicTalk ''. Olympictalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2015 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Here 's The First 100 - Year - Old To Appear In Vogue ''. Uk.style.yahoo.com. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Harvey Nichols 100 Year Old Model Campaign ''. Vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` masterstrack.com ''. Jump up ^ `` Watch : 100 - year old Ida Keeling breaks 100 - meter age group record ''. Yahoo Sports. 2 May 2016. Jump up ^ Los Angeles Times ( 3 May 2016 ). `` Watch 100 - year - old Ida Keeling set a world record in the 100 - meter dash, then do some push - ups ''. latimes.com. ^ Jump up to : Payne, Marissa. `` ' I missed my nap for this ' : 101 - year - old sprinter breaks 100 - meter dash record ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 27. Further reading Koch, Tina ; Kralik, Debbie ; Power, Charmaine ( 2005 ). 100 Years Old : 24 Australian Centenarians Tell Their Stories. Camberwell, Vic : Viking. ISBN 0 - 670 - 02872 - X. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Centenarians. New England Centenarian Study Okinawa Centenarian Study Mortality of Centenarians via Princeton University U.S. politicians who lived the longest via Political Graveyard Noted Nonagenarians and Centenarians via Genarians.com Centenarian research and celebration via AdlerCentenarians.org Living Beyond 100 via International Longevity Center UK Table of numbers of centenarians for select nations, 1960 and 1990 via Demogr.mpg.de Centenarians ' Road Project website Oldest People in Britain Longevity Terminology Centenarian Super Cognitive epidemiology Elderly Life expectancy Life extension Maximum life span Old age Immortality Ageless Biological immortality Digital immortality Eternal youth Issues Anti-aging movement Longevity claims Longevity escape velocity Longevity insurance Longevity myths Longevity risk Living and Notable centenarians ( over age 100 ) By career Activists, non-profit leaders, and philanthropists Actors, filmmakers, and entertainers Artists Authors, poets, and journalists Businesspeople Educators, school administrators, social scientists, and linguists Explorers Jurists and practitioners of law Medical professionals Military commanders Musicians, composers, and music patrons Philosophers and theologians Politicians and civil servants Religious figures Royalty and nobility Scientists and mathematicians Sportspeople Miscellaneous Supercentenarians ( over age 110 ) By continent Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America By country Australia Belgium Canada Denmark Finland France Germany Ireland Italy Japan Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Spain Sweden United Kingdom United States Oldest people List of oldest living people List of the verified oldest people men women Miscellaneous Last surviving veterans of military insurgencies and wars European American Canadian Last surviving World War I veterans by country Surviving veterans of the Spanish Civil War List of surviving veterans of World War II Last survivors of historic events Oldest twins Longest marriages List of longest - reigning monarchs See also Ageing Biodemography of human longevity Earliest known life forms FOXO3 longevity gene Gerontology Immortality in fiction Life extension - related topics Senescence Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Centenarian&oldid=803731360 '' Categories : Lists of people by age Centenarians Senescence Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 Estonian - language sources ( et ) CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Use dmy dates from May 2016 Vague or ambiguous geographic scope from May 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本 語 Polski Simple English Svenska ไทย Українська 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2017, at 08 : 04. 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Question: number of us citizens over 100 years old
Answer: 72,000