THE Taunton area was sixth highest in the UK for proportions of centenarians in their populations, the latest census shows.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has put out data on the number of people aged 100 or over living in local authority areas from the 2021 census and the former Somerset West and Taunton district came sixth overall.

The old SWT area had a proportion of 48 centenarians per 100,000 residents, as shown by the data.

The map below, from from the Office for National Statistics, shows the data for every county across the UK.

The study also explained that in England and Wales, there were 23 centenarians per 100,000 population on Census Day 2021.

The proportion was the same for England alone, which had a total of 13,124 in this age group.

Wales had a higher proportion, at 25 centenarians per 100,000, a total of 800 in this age group.

At local authority (LA) level, 159 LAs had a higher number of centenarians per 100,000 population than the overall England and Wales figure.

A statement about the study published on the ONS website read: “From 1921 to 1961, the number of centenarians in the population rose very gradually, but from that point the rate of increase was rapid.

“The main reason for the rise was improvements in mortality rates, particularly at older ages, that occurred in the second half of the 20th century.

“This is, in part, because of advances in healthcare and public health measures, which led to improved air quality and working conditions.

“Birth cohort sizes will also have had some influence on the number of centenarians over time. Read more about birth cohorts in our Births in England and Wales: 2022 bulletin.

“Historically, there have always been more female centenarians than males because of higher life expectancy for females.

“This remained true in 2021, with a sex ratio of 23 males per 100 females.

“There was a total of 11,288 female and 2,636 male centenarians in England and Wales on Census Day 2021.

“Although the ages of centenarians living in England and Wales ranged from 100 to 112, over 90 per cent were aged between 100 and 103 years, with the average (mean) age being 101 years, one month and two weeks.

“Around the time of birth of these centenarians in 1921, life expectancy was 67.9 years for females and 61.2 years for males, according to our life tables, principal projection, England and Wales dataset.

“This cohort has outlived their life expectancy by an average of 32 years for females and 39 years for males.

“In contrast, for babies born in 2021, their life expectancy at birth is projected to be 90.5 years for females and 87.6 years for males.

“For these babies, 19.6 per cent of females and 14.1 per cent of males can expect to live to become a centenarian.

“The life expectancy figures refer to cohort life tables, which include projected data that take into account improvements in mortality over the last 100 years.”