In recent decades, the phenomenon of population aging has been observed in developed countries. Young people give birth to fewer children, and the development of medicine allows them to live longer and better. Thus, the percentage of elderly people in the population structure is constantly growing. The number of long-lived people is also increasing. One of the leaders in this aspect is France. More than 31 thousand inhabitants of the country are people who are already more than 100 years old.
For comparison: in 1970, only about a thousand French people could boast of such a respectable age. Thus, in 50 years, the number of long-lived people has increased 30 times. This is stated in the French report National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED).
The number of long-lived people – people over 105 and 110 years old – is also increasing. It is expected that in 2070, about 200,000 people will live in France, whose age will be indicated by three-digit numbers.
Interestingly, two out of four people in the world who have lived over 118 years are French women. They are Jeanne Calman, the oldest person on record, who died at the age of 122 years and 5 months, and Lucille Rendon, who died in 2023, shortly before her 119th birthday. She lived for 118 years and 11 months. Also, the list of record holders who lived more than 118 years included an American woman and a Japanese woman.
Secrets of longevity
Among the reasons that allow you to live longer are genetics and lifestyle. Most often, French long-timers are people who lived in the countryside. They spent a lot of time in the fresh air, regularly performed physical work on the farm and ate products of their own production (vegetables from their garden or fruits from their own garden).
