The number of people aged over 100 in Italy has increased by 30 percent over the past 10 years, while birth rates have continued to decline.

There were more than 22,000 Italians in the age bracket between 100 and 104 in 2024, up from just over 17,000 in 2014, according to a report by national statistics bureau ISTAT on Thursday. The vast majority of them – 81 percent – are women.

There were 21 supercentenarians - individuals aged 110 years and older - still alive in 2024, of whom only one is a man. This is more than double the number in 2009, when there were only 10.

The gradual aging of the population is causing problems for Italy, where the birth rate is among the lowest in Europe, with a heavy impact on public accounts because of huge spending on pensions and health care.

The oldest person in Italy is a 114-year-old woman; among men, the oldest is 110, said ISTAT.