More than half of babies born today will live past their 100th birthday, a new study indicates.

According to Danish researchers, life expectancy continues to rise in developed countries and very long lives are the probable destiny of most people alive today.

The European Health Expectancy Monitoring Unit study reported that 50% of babies born in 2007 in the UK should live to be 103 years old. In Japan, the majority of babies born in 2007 are expected to reach 107 years of age.

Compare this to the 1950s, where only 16% of UK women and 12% of UK men lived to see their 90th birthday.

The researchers added that the evidence suggests that people are not only living longer than they did previously, but also living with less disability and fewer functional limitations.

“Continued progress in the longest living populations suggests that we are not close to a limit, and further rise in life expectancy seems likely,” the researchers concluded.

The study was published in The Lancet.