Number of centenarians across Bassetlaw increases as population ages

According to the newly published Office for National Statistics 2021 cenus results, 26,801 people in Bassetlaw, or 22.1 per cent of the 117,804 population are aged 65 and over, compared with 20.941, or 18.6 per cent of the 112,863 population in 2011.

The numbers of people aged over 90 and 100 has also risen.

In 2021, there were 1,114 people aged 90 and over, 1 per cent of the population, and 36 centenarians, 0.03 per cent, compared with 834 aged 90-plus and 16 centenarians – 0.7 per cent and 0.01 per cent of the population respectively, 11 years ago.

It is a trend repeated across England and Wales.

More than 11 million people – 18.6 per cent of the population – were aged 65 or older when the 2021 census was taken, compared with 16.4 per cent in the previous census a decade before. This included 527,900 people aged 90 or more.

The median age in England and Wales rose from 39 in 2011 to 40 in 2021, reflecting the changing age structure of the population.

Angele Storey, head of ONS’s ageing analysis team, said: “While living longer is something to be celebrated and our ageing population presents opportunities, it also has implications for the economy, services and society. Knowing the size and structure of the population is fundamental for decision makers and policy makers in the UK.

“The 2021 Census results will give further insight into the implications of an ageing population and the lives of older people when the more detailed multivariate data are published in 2023.”

The Centre for Ageing Better was launched in 2015.

Dr Aideen Young, centre senior evidence manager, said: “Older people are a highly diverse group in terms of health and wealth, and within that group there are people very much in need – who are living in poverty, in poor housing and in poor health.

“Their precarious situation has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. They are the people that we really need to pay attention to.”