hbekkar,
Thank you for an very interesting question regarding a growing segment
of the United States population. Life expectancy in the United States
has continually been on the increase with the advance of medicine and
healthier lifestyles. In conjunction with this increase, the number
of individuals 100 years old or greater, or centenarians, has also
increased. According to the US Census Bureau:
In 2000, there were 50,454 centenarians in the United States, or 1 per
5,578 people, or roughly 18 per 100,000
In 1990, there were 37,306 centenarians in the United States. or 1 per
6,667 people, or roughly 15 per 100,000
Before the 1990 census, there was extreme concern with the validity of
the numbers of centenarians for several reasons. In 1980, there were
over 32,000 reported centenarians, however, due to irregularities in
census responses (such as entire families being born in the 19th
century, making them all over 100 and editing procedure that discarded
everyone listed as 112 years old or older), the Census Bureau lowered
the number to an estimated 15,000 centenarians.
In 1970, the reported number of centenarians by the Census Bureau was
over 100,000. This number is attributed to 1970 being the first
census that was self-enumerated, or required respondents to submit
their census reports themselves as opposed to having census takers
going door-to-door. The actual number estimated by the Census Bureau
in 1970 is 4,800 centenarians in the US.
1960, census reports say there were 10,369, but revised estimates put
that number at 3,330
1950, census reports say 4,447 total centenarians, but official
numbers are revised to 2,300
Thank you again for your question. If you need any further
clarification, please let me know.
Regards,
-THV
References:
Centenarians in the United States (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/p23-199.pdf
Census Facts and Features
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02ff07.html
Search Strategy:
Centenarians in the United States |
Clarification of Answer by
tar_heel_v-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 12:10 PST
Another clarification for you, hbekkar, as I realized I misread the
dates you required. According to Centenarians in the United States
and The First Measured Century, the centenarian population in the
United States remained fairly constant from 1900 through 1970, as
evidenced by the very slight increase from 1950 to 1960. Here is some
more information:
In 1900, there were 46 centenarians per million people in the US, or
4.6 per 100,000
In 1930, there were approximately 35 centenarians per million people
or 3.5 per 100,000
Reference:
First Measured Century-Chapter 1, Population (Requires Adobe Acrobat
Reader)
http://www.pbs.org/fmc/book/pdf/ch1.pdf, which is detailed information
from The
Sorry for all the clarifications, but I wanted to enusre you received
a complete answer.
Regards,
-THV
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