According to the Economist (drawing on UN data), by the year 2100 there will be five countries that will each have one million centenarians. These five countries are China, which is predicted to reach the milestone in 2069, the United States in 2073, Japan in 2075, India in 2084 and Brazil in 2100. These predictions are a tribute to better medical practice and the increase in our ability to keep people alive for longer.

Let us hope that our societies (which is NOT JUST the government, but also every one of us as individuals – yes, we also have responsibilities to go with our myriad of rights) provide the best possible care for the very old. This sort of thing should never happen. Perhaps as certain societies age, there might be a move toward more elderly spending their last few years in their children’s home, surrounded by family. Especially if rest homes are not able to keep up with the demand, or cannot be trusted.  Mum and Dad always used to joke that they would be spending 4 months of the year with each of us three children after retirement. Maybe, sometime in the future this won’t sound quite as ludicrous as it once did to us? (I'm sure Mum and Dad never found it ludicrous...) 

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