2,600 NL residents over 100 years old

At the start of this year, the Netherlands had almost 2,600 residents over the age of 100. That is 400 more than five years ago, an increase of nearly 20 percent, according to an analysis by ANP/LocalFocus of recently updated figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

A few years ago, CBS predicted that the group of centenarians would grow rapidly from 2020 onwards due to a "small baby boom" after the First World War. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, that prediction seems to have come true. Although a lot more people died in 2020 and 2021 than expected, the number of people over 100 grew significantly in those years.

Flevoland, in particular, saw a rapid increase in centenarian residents in recent years. Since 2018, the number of people aged 100 and older in this province has more than doubled. Though compared to the population, Flevoland still has the fewest residents over the age of 100 of all provinces. This share is highest in Zeeland.

Of the municipalities with over 100,000 residents, Apeldoorn, Breda, and Venlo have a relatively large number of residents over the age of 100. In absolute numbers, the most centenarians live in Rotterdam (1110), The Hague (107), and Amsterdam (92).

Over eight in ten centenarians are women. Women, on average, live longer than men. It is striking, however, that the group of men aged 100 or older has grown relatively faster in recent years than the number of female centenarians.

Ebeltje Boekema-Hut from Leek (province of Groningen) is currently the oldest Netherlands resident at 110 years old. According to the earlier CBS forecast, the Netherlands will have about 3,500 residents aged 100 or older in 2030.