Number of Centenarians in the United States, 1990, 2000, and 2010, Based on Improved Medicare Data

Bert Kestenbaum, U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA)
Betty R. Ferguson, U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA)

The size of the centenarian population in the United States at the beginning and end of the decade of the 1990's is estimated using improved Medicare enrollment data. Its size at the end of the next decade is projected from the starting population ages 90 and above at the beginning of the decade by applying the set of age-specific mortality probabilities during the prior decade. The size and growth of the centenarian population in the United States will be put in international perspective. We have undertaken several initiatives at the microdata level to improve the quality of Medicare enrollment and mortality data, particularly with respect to errors in age reporting and recording and failures to record deaths.