When someone turns 100 years old, the mayor often stops by to congratulate him. In the future they will have to hire someone extra. According to a calculation by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, more than every third girl born this year will be celebrating his 100th birthday. The numbers are available to the editorial network Germany.
Thus, 77 percent of newborn girls will reach their 90th birthday. 92 percent even experience their 80th birthday. The average life expectancy of newborn women is stated by the Rostock researchers to be 94.8 years. "An age of 90 will be completely normal in the future," says Dmitri Jdanov, responsible scientist at the Max Planck Institute.
Men will be about 88.6 years old in the future
Of the boys born today, more than one in ten (11 percent) may hope to experience their 100th birthday. 59 percent of the men born this year will reach their 90th birthday, 84 percent the 80th The average life expectancy of newborn boys is the Max Planck Institute with 88.6 years.
The researchers based their calculations on forecasts of the UN. These assume that the current progress in life expectancy will continue. Whether the values are actually achieved in the end is therefore uncertain. An important role will also play, according to the researchers, as the smoking and drinking behavior will develop in the coming decades.
Overall, however, researchers are confident that life expectancy will increase, even for older generations:
- According to forecasts, 81 percent of today's 50-year-old women will celebrate their 80th birthday . Of the men of the same age, 70 per cent.
- Every second of today's 50-year-old women is at least 90 years old , 12 percent at least 100.
- Of the 50-year-old men, about one in three (36 percent) can hope to reach their 90th birthday. According to the prognosis, three hundred percent of the 50-year-old men are still celebrating the 100th day of honor.
It has been known for a long time that women live significantly longer than men on average. Some of the differences can be explained genetically. For example, processes associated with the X chromosome ensure that girls have a stronger immune system and more often survive infancy. The living conditions also play a role. Men are more likely to have risky jobs and are more likely to be involved in accidents. Men and women suffering from the same diseases usually get help from men later on. (Here you can read more about it).
The increasing life expectancy in Germany presents challenges for the health and pension system. Anyone who lives longer is sick longer. For example, according to a Lancet study based on a different data set than the current Max Planck Institute analysis, people born in 2013 had a life expectancy of 80.7 years. They are healthy but only 68.8 years. (Read more here.) Increasing life expectancy also increases the average pension duration. In 2017, each retiree received a pension for almost 20 years, compared to just 16 years in 1997.