100-Year-Olds No Longer a Novelty

The population of the world is getting older. Much older. According to a report released in mid-July by the National Institute on Aging, the world’s population of centenarians is projected to reach nearly 6 million by the middle of this century.

In the 1950s, there were perhaps a few thousand. Today there are more than 340,000, with the highest concentrations in the U.S. and Japan. And the number of centenarians is projected to grow at more than 20 times the rate of the total population by 2050, making centenarians the fastest-growing age segment. The population of people 80 and older is expected to grow 233% by 2040, compared with 33% for all ages overall.

100-Year-Olds No Longer a Novelty
Source: Life Insurance Selling