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Hitting a Century: Centenarians in Australia
Author(s) -
McCormack John
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2000.tb00148.x
Subject(s) - centenarian , census , demography , geography , gerontology , population , government (linguistics) , medicine , sociology , linguistics , philosophy
Background : Census data show that people aged 100 years or more are increasing in number. However, there is a dearth of local information on these people as a socio‐demographic group. This paper presents some aggregated quantitative information on these long‐lived people. Method : The study uses secondary sources of data to compose a preliminary picture of centenarians in Australia. Historical census records and unpublished census data, as well as government departmental data were obtained to present a range of centenarian characteristics. Results : While historical census data on centenarian counts are available, recent differences in age data recording lead us to estimate the current number of centenarians. This estimate however builds on a strong growth trend, and the number of centenarians appears likely to increase, possibly doubling by the year 2006. The data show heterogeneity in the centenarians' social circumstances such that they do not necessarily fit a frail stereotype. Conclusion : As centenarians can add considerably to our knowledge of individual and population ageing, further work should be undertaken on this group. A register of centenarians and a return to single year age recording of all people in the census is suggested.