Britons are living longer than ever, as the number of people in the UK reaching the age of 100 has quadrupled in the last 30 years, and is expected to do the same again by 2035.
The number of centenarians living in the UK has risen dramatically by 65% over the last decade, reaching 14, 570 in 2015, with 850 of them estimated to be 105 or more.
This is double the number of people in 2005, and up from 130 in 1985, according to new research from the Office for National Statistics.
There has also been a huge growth in the amount of people aged 90 or over living in the UK, as there were over half a million (556,270) in 2015, up from 194,670 people in 1985.
The figures revealed a dip in the amount of people ages 90 and over in 2008, which reflects low birth numbers at the end of World War 1, followed by higher numbers of births in the early 1920s.
The rapid increase overall highlights how life expectancy has grown by improved medical treatments, housing and living standards, general nutrition and changes to the population’s smoking habits.
In the last decade, there has also been a fall in the percentage of deaths from heart disease.
Richard Harrington, minister for pensions, said to the BBC: "It is fantastic news that more people are living longer lives.
"I want everyone to be able to enjoy their retirement, but as people live longer it's even more important that they have a pension to help provide financial security in later life."
Women outlive men
The statistics revealed that women are living more than men, as seven out of ten people aged 90 and over are female. However the ratio of females to males is falling.
In 2015, 78% of those aged 95 and over were female; 85% of centenarians were female and 88% of centenarians aged 105 and over were female.
In the UK in 2005 there were 284 women aged 90 to 94 and 431 women aged 95 to 99 for every 100 men of those ages; by 2015 the ratios had fallen to 220 and 329 respectively.
The fall in the ratio was greater for those aged 100 and over, falling from 719 female centenarians for every 100 male centenarians in 2005 to 550 in 2015.
The ONS said these falls are due to continued faster improvements in male life expectancy than female life expectancy at older ages.
Regional proportions
England and Wales have higher proportions of people aged 90 and over compared to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Last year, Wales had 938 people aged 90 and over per 100,000 population compared to 867 in England, 741 in Scotland and 672 in Northern Ireland.
The regional results have been similar over the last 30 years, as the largest increases in those aged 90 and over per 100,000 population occurred in Wales (603) followed by England (515), then Scotland (448) and Northern Ireland (388).
The ONS said: "The differences reflect the overall demographic patterns in each of the UK countries.
"Northern Ireland has a slightly younger age profile than the other UK countries with older people making up a smaller proportion of the overall population. This is partly because Northern Ireland has historically had higher fertility rates than the rest of the UK."
