The number of centenarians (people aged 100 years and over) across the industrialised world has been growing at an increasing rate since the 1950s1. At the start of the 20th century, Scottish centenarians were extremely rare, but by the start of the 21st century, there were estimated to be over 500 people aged 100 or over in Scotland. Since the 1950s, centenarians have been growing at a faster rate than any other age group.