Research by Pew estimates that by 2050 there will be 3.7 million centenarians across the globe and Japan is the country with the highest probability of living to or beyond the age of 100 years.
According to the U.N. Population Division, 79,000 people at or over the age of 100 lived in the country in 2020, making Japan the place with the highest share of centenarians relative to population as well as the second-most centenarians in absolute numbers (behind the United States' 97,000).
The longevity of its population has been a source of pride for the Japanese, but an aging population and plunging birthrates are also creating a series of economic problems. Other countries have similarly been wrestling with how to plan for their elderly in the future, even if they are not topping the list of countries with the most centenarians.
While the world's oldest woman, 117-year-old Kane Tanaka is from Japan, the world's oldest man, Saturnino de la Fuente hails from Spain. The supercentenarian is turning 112 years on Monday. As our map shows, de la Fuente is also from a country with a higher-than-average population of centenarian. In France, Spain and Italy, the share of the population who is over the age of 100 stands at around 0.03 percent - the highest in Europe.
Uruguay, Hong Kong and Puerto Rico are also home to some of the highest levels of centenarians compared to population with rates between 0.06 and 0.045 percent.
