This country is known as the "Land of Longevity."

Thursday, Dec 11, 2025

Delfi

Italy sees record growth in centenarians, presenting aging society challenges across Europe.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

The number of residents living over one hundred years old is increasing record-breakingly in Italy, with long life being considered a trend, especially in “blue zones.” This rapid societal aging presents challenges for Italy and other European nations. According to Italian National Statistics Agency data, there are currently 23,548 people aged 100 or more in Italy, up from 21,211 in 2024, making the number of centenarians over twice as high as in 2009. Certain regions like Southern Molise lead in relative numbers of centenarians, followed by Aosta Valley and Liguria; Sardinia also has a significant population of elderly residents. Some Italian centenarians remain active, with examples cited of baristas and drivers who have renewed their licenses. Despite the respect for these long-lived individuals, the aging society poses challenges to the government due to declining birth rates, with 370,000 births recorded in 2024—the lowest since Italy’s unification in 1861. The number of centenarians is projected to reach nearly 500,000 by 2050 across the EU. In Lithuania, there were 339 residents aged 100 or more in 2024.

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PULSE is an initiative for cross-border collaborative journalism in Europe co-funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement n. PO 4500158093.

PULSE is an initiative coordinated by OBCT that has been promoting intensive journalistic cross-border collaborations in Europe since 2024. Its main aim is to help strengthen the European public sphere by reporting on and telling stories from new and diverse perspectives.

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