UK elderly population at record high as life expectancy for men continues to increase
Figures show the number of men living to old age in the UK is growing faster than the rate of women, helping the elderly population rise to a new record high.
Approximately 210,520 men are estimated to be 90 years of age or older in 2024; This is more than double the number of 97,570 two decades ago in 2004.
In contrast, the number of women increased by only a third over this period, from 309,300 in 2004 to 414,720 in 2024.
This means that while the majority of the UK’s older population remains female, the gender balance is changing over time.
In 2004, men made up 24.0% of the population aged 90 and over; but in 2024, this rate increased to 33.7%.
A similar shift is taking place among centenarians in England.
In 2004, men made up 10.9% of people aged 100 and over, or about one in nine people.
By 2024, this rate had risen to 18.4%: almost one in five.
The latest estimates for older people have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS said changes in the gender balance of the UK’s older population were “largely explained by improvements in life expectancy and historical birth patterns”.
“Women’s life expectancy is higher, but the gap is narrowing as men’s life expectancy increases faster than women’s.
“This has led to the number of older men increasing 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 in the last two decades, from 406,870 in 2004 to 625,240 in 2024.
At the same time, the number of centenarians has doubled, from 8,330 in 2004 to 16,650 last year, also a record high.
The population aged 100 and over increased sharply in both 2020 and 2021; this reflects the increase in the number of babies born in the years immediately following the end of the First World War in 1918.
But while the number of births has fallen in the years following the post-war “baby boom”, the UK’s centenarian population continues to grow.
ONS statistician Kerry Gadsdon said the ongoing rise was “largely driven by past improvements in mortality rates going back decades, with more people surviving to older 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 United Kingdom in 2004; this rate was 13.9 per 100,000 people in 2004.
This rate varies across the country; Wales had the highest figure, with 25.9 centenarians per 100,000 people last year, followed by England (24.7), Scotland (18.4) and Northern Ireland (15.3).
The ONS said the lower figure for Northern Ireland was explained by higher fertility rates resulting in a younger population rather than differences in life expectancy.
