Longevity: France at the top of European countries, with 30,000 centenarians

France holds the record for longevity, with 30,000 centenarians listed by INSEE in 2022. A figure that has jumped, centenarians being only 1,100 on average in the years 1965-1975. It is therefore today thirty times more, with 86% of women.

More centenarian women: why?

Note that in the figures provided by INSEE, women are more than a hundred years old than men. What are the reasons for this disparity? There are several explanations.

Generally speaking, women are less subject than men to physical occupations, which in some way protects their health. In addition, they generally also consume less tobacco and alcohol than men.

More educated centenarians too

Among other differences, it can be noted that centenarians are more often graduates of higher education. For what ? Quite simply because by having had diplomas and jobs that were more socially valued, these centenarians were also able, when they were younger, to benefit from more health care. And the difference is important, because all sexes combined, there are twice as many centenarians among people with higher education qualifications than the others.

France leads European countries in number of centenarians

If the figure is already impressive, we imagine that it could have been higher without the Covid-19 pandemic that we have experienced. However, France remains very well placed because it is the country with the most centenarians in Europe, ahead of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Belgium.

According to forecasts, the number of French centenarians should increase further, with between 100,000 and 600,000 people aged 100 or over, in 2070. According to INSEE projections, among people born in 1940, 6% of women and 2% of men will potentially reach the age of one hundred.