Table 1: Number and annual rate of growth in number of persons attaining age 100







 Country

Number

Annual rate of growth (%)‡



1875*



1915†



1950



1960



1970



1980



1990

 1950s

 to

 1960s

  1960s

 to

 1970s

  1970s

 to

 1980s
 Austria ... ... 12 21 41 77 137 8 6 6
 Belgium ... ... 21 37 82 136 290 4 5 8
 Denmark 3 5 22 25 44 103 213 3 9 8
 England & Wales ... 74 183 316 684 1244 1971 7 7 6
 Finland 1 1 5 6 14 37 87 4 6 11
 France ... ... 171 330 663 1178 2063 8 7 6
 Japan ... ... 66 91 221 543 1717 6 10 10
 Norway ... 15 23 44 73 85 141 1 5 5
 Sweden 4 16 31 46 80 172 329 4 7 7
 Switzerland ... ... 9 15 40 99 195 6 8 9
 West Germany ... ... ... 94 283 616 1626 ... 8 9
                     
                     
 Total or average - - 543 1025 2225 4290 8769 5.1 7.1 7.7
 Weighted average§ - - - - - - - 6.3 7.7 7.7
* average number 1870-9; † average number 1911-20; ‡ logarithm of the ratio of the number of persons attaining age 100 in the second time period to the number in the first time period, divided by ten; § weighted by number of centenarians in 1990; ... required data not available; -- statistic not appropriate.