3 responses to “Centenarian”

1. 

   Elize van der Berg

   10 years Ago

   This fact looks incorrect – MORE Centenaries in RSA per 100 000 than in the UK – where there is higher standard of living and free health care?? AND Geriatric specialists because the aging population is so big??
   (We do not have any in RSA yet.)

   Please check…….

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   1. 

      Claire

      10 years Ago

      Hi Elize,

      Thanks for your comment. According to the South African Census 2011 there were a total of 15,604 people aged 100 and above out of a population of about 52 million (approximately 30 per 100,000)

      In 2011 in the UK there were 12,530 people aged 100 or more out of a population of 63.3 million (approximately 20 per 100,000)

      There were a number of articles in the press about the number of centenarians in SA being surprisingly high (see: http://bit.ly/1yJI2PL). It should be noted that ages were not independently verified and were based on information given to the Census officials so, as per Illana’s comment, many people may not know how old they are. A number of experts think that the diet and lifestyle, especially in rural areas, could also lend themselves to longevity.

      Also important to note that the numbers change drastically when you look at people aged 90 or more. In the UK there were approximately 768 per 100,000 population aged 90 or more in 2012 versus 210 per 100,000 in South Africa.

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2. 

   illana

   10 years Ago

   My sense is that there are more people in SA who are not sure when they were born. They might feel as though they have been alive for a really, really long time. I know I sometimes do.

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