“Working class people actually ate better in those days because we had no fridges, so the food was fresh every day. We would get fish from the market. A woman a few doors down had a little horse and cart, and she got fruit and vegetables from Covent Garden and sold it fresh.”
Who centenarians were living with
Most centenarians living in England and Wales in 2021 resided in private households.
Two-fifths of centenarians (39.1%) lived in communal establishments, with the majority of these living in a care home (96.8%).
Two-fifths (41.6%) live alone in private households, with a further fifth (19.3%) living with other people in a household, half of these living in a two-person household.
Most centenarians living in two or more person households were living with relatives:
- 65.8% with their child or stepchild
- 17.6% with their spouse
- 15.4% with grandchildren
- 32.2% with other relatives
- 10.7% with someone who is not related to them
Please note that percentages do not sum to 100%, as respondents could live with more than one relative.
Although both male and female centenarians were more likely to be widowed than of any other marital status, female centenarians were more likely to be widowed than male centenarians and less likely to be married; 18.4% of males were married, compared with only 3.7% of females. Of those centenarians who were married or in a civil partnership, only 2.4% in total were in same-sex marriages or same-sex civil partnerships. Females were more likely to be widowed as they have higher life expectancies, and therefore were more likely to outlive their spouse. According to our People’s living arrangements in England and Wales article, males were also more likely to marry women slightly younger than themselves and so were more likely to have a living spouse.
There was a total of 905 married or civil-partnered centenarians on Census Day 2021; 64.3% of these married centenarians were living in a private household. However, they were not necessarily living with their spouse, as their spouse may have been living in a communal establishment. There were 471 centenarians living in the same household as their spouse in England and Wales. Most of these centenarians were living with a spouse aged less than 100 years. However, there were 14 centenarian couples living together in a private household. Data were not available on centenarian couples in communal establishments.
Lauretta was married at the age of 18 years, but now lives on her own.
“I live alone, but I never get lonely. I never seem to have enough time, because everything is a big effort and I’m so slow. It takes me time to do everything, so the days seem short. I also have my music and my family and friends.
“My sister is 94 and I have had friends who also lived a long time. Two of them lived to 90 and one to 102, but unfortunately they have passed on. That’s what happens. Friends I have made more recently don’t know me as well as friends I knew when I was young. They can be very good friends but can only really see you as you are now.”
I always think it would be a good idea if people living in nursing homes had a picture of themselves when they were younger and at their best so they can look at themselves and remember how they really are and not what everyone sees as just someone old. I am still the same person I was back then.
Centenarian health and disability
A quarter of centenarians reported having good or very good general health. Half of this age group report having fair health, while the remaining quarter report living with bad or very bad health. Surprisingly, 3 in 10 centenarians reported having no disability. However, of disabled centenarians, 80.1% were limited a lot in their day-to-day activities. Male centenarians were more likely to be non-disabled than females and were also more likely to report having good or very good health.
Poorer health in later life is likely to affect people’s residence type and living situation.
Those living alone in a private household were the most likely to be in very good or good health (29.1%) and to report having no disability (41.4%). Those living in communal establishments were the least likely to be in good or very good health (20.0%) but were equally as likely as those living with others in a private household to be in bad or very bad health. They were also the most likely to be disabled and limited a lot (66.1%).
While many centenarians report being in good health, Lauretta is living with some health issues.
There is always something wrong but I feel that as long as you’re mentally healthy, you can cope with most things and organise yourself. I deal with one thing at a time and make myself look good. If you look in the mirror and feel and look dreadful, that makes you feel down. If I don’t look too bad, it makes me feel better.
Lauretta Boston
“There are things I find difficult to do because I am lumbered with a body that won’t do what I want it to do. Where I live, I have plenty of stairs so even if I don’t go out, I’m active. I have a carer who comes in to help me. I cook my own meals, but she sometimes prepares food for me to cook.
“I have a little shopping trolley I can take to the shops and it’s nice to pick out what I want and go to the till. Sometimes I have to go in the wheelchair and when I go to the counter to pay, people tend to talk to the person that’s pushing you, not you. They assume I’m old and senile. It’s very annoying when you’re the person who is paying and doing the shopping. If I’m standing, people talk to me person to person.”
Ethnic group and country of birth
Ethnic group
Here, we focus on the five high level ethnic groups people identify with, as set out in our Ethnic group by age and sex, England and Wales: Census 2021 article.
In 2021, 95.8% of the population aged 100 years and over living in England and Wales identified in the “White” ethnic group, 2.1% identified in the “Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh” ethnic group, and 1.1% in the “Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean, or African” ethnic group. The remaining 1.0% of people aged 100 years and over identified in the “Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups” or “Other ethnic groups”.
Country of birth
In 2021, 91.8% of the population aged 100 years and over living in England and Wales were born in the UK compared with 83.2% of the population as a whole. Of centenarians living in England and Wales in 2021, 1.3% were born in Ireland and 2.4% were born in another European country. A further 2.5% were born in the Middle East and Asia, 1.2% were born in The Americas and the Caribbean, 0.7% were born in Africa and 0.2% born in Antartica and Oceania (including Australasia).
