Commenting on the publication of ONS National life tables UK: 2014 to 2016 and Estimates of the Very Old (including Centenarians): 2002 to 2016, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, the older people’s charity said:
“These figures show a remarkable rise in the number of people aged 100 or over. We should certainly celebrate the fact that there are now more than 14,500 centenarians living in the UK, with huge advances in public health and medicine to thank for this growth. But it is less obvious what is driving the recent slowdown in life expectancy. If trends continue, and growth in life expectancy continues to tail off, we could be looking at the very serious problem of shortening life spans.”