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Number of 'very old' Britons surpasses 500,000 mark
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of older people in Britain who are 'very old' has surprassed half a million.
The figures for 2013 show that there were 527,240 people aged 90 or over living in the UK. The number of those over 90 has almost tripled in the last 30 years.
The ONS figures, released today (September 25) showed that the numbers reaching very old ages continue to increase.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the Department for Work and Pensions now has a seven-strong “Centenarian team” dedicated to keeping information on Britain’s oldest citizens up to date after the number of people over the age of 100 jumped by 70 per cent in a decade.
New estimates also published by the Office for National Statistics show that there are now almost 14,000 people over the age of 100 living in the UK, a five per cent rise in a single year.
- Read more on this story: Queen's 'birthday card' team expands to cope with surge of 100-year-olds
Number crunching: data on the 'very old' from ONS
Although the 90 and over group account for only a very small proportion of the UK population (0.8% in 2013) the size of this age group relative to the rest of the population has also increased over time.
In 1983, there were 322 people aged 90 and over per 100,000 population; by 1993 this had increased to 487; by 2003 it had reached 662 and the latest figures for 2013 show there were 822 people aged 90 and over per 100,000 population in the UK (Figure 1).
- Read more on this story: ONS estimates of the very old 2002-2013
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