CORRECTION - Over last 50 years, number of centenarians in France rose nearly thirtyfold

CORRECTS MISUNDERSTANDING IN PARAGRAPH 7

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Over the last 50 years, the number of centenarians in France rose nearly thirtyfold, according to new official figures.

France currently has 30,000 people age 100 or older, the French statistical office Insee said in a report Wednesday.

"Only 4,300 of them are men, or 14%," the report noted, adding that half of the centenarians are still living in their own homes.

Insee also explained that the current number of centenarians is almost thirtyfold more than the period of 1960-1975, when they numbered only around 1,100.

The number of centenarians climbed 8% a year on average between 1975 and 2015, figures showed.

From 2020 to now, the yearly increases rose to 15% on average, said Insee, and this would have been even more if not for the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 2023, 91% of the centenarians in France are 103 or younger, the report showed.

The world's oldest person, Sister Andre the nun, died on Jan. 16 in the southern French city of Toulon at age 118.

Jeanne Calment, also of France, still holds the record as the world's longest-lived person. In 1997, she died at age 122 in the southern city of Arles.