A good diploma gives a better chance of becoming a centenarian

This is a record: France is the European country with the most centenarians.

According to INSEE, 30,000 centenarians live in France today, 30 times more than in the years 1960-1975.

This is due to the fact that we are one of the most populous countries, but also to a better life expectancy than elsewhere.

And these ancestors are more and more numerous: the number of centenarians has increased by 15% per year on average between 2020 and 2023, despite the Covid epidemic.

However, they represent only 0.04% of the entire French population, against 1% for nonagenarians.

The vast majority of them are far from the age record of Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years old.

The current French dean is 118 years old, but 91% are over 103 years old.

Read alsoThe number of centenarians on the rise in France

Unsurprisingly, centenarians are 86% women.

At 100, half of the people still live at home, the others are in nursing homes.

Centenarian men, who are more often in a couple, live more frequently at home than women.

The level of diploma also has an impact on longevity: among women aged 70 to 75 in 1990, 7% of higher education graduates reached the age of 100, compared to 3% of non-graduates.

A good diploma allows

, notes INSEE.

The probability of reaching this fateful age should continue to increase.

In 2040, France could thus have 76,000 centenarians… and up to 210,000 in 2070!