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Where the oldest Swiss live

A group of elderly people take in the view of Lake Uri in 2018.
A group of elderly people take in the view of Lake Uri in 2018. © Keystone / Urs Flueeler


Cantons Basel City, Jura and Ticino had the most 100-year-olds in Switzerland in 2018, new statistics reveal.

That year there were approximately 1,500-1,600 centenarians in Switzerland, 80% of whom were women, according to the Federal Statistical OfficeExternal link. The number has stabilised since 2012 after rising sharply between 1950-2010, when it doubled every ten years. The oldest person in Switzerland at the end of 2018 was 110.

On average there were 18 centenarians per 100,000 Swiss inhabitants in 2018.

Cantons with the most people aged 100 and over were Basel City (38 per 100,000 inhabitants), Jura (35), Ticino (33) and Geneva (29). Cantons Aargau (10) and Obwalden (3) had the fewest.

It is estimated that one out of four girls and one out of six boys born in 2018 may live to 100.

At the beginning of 2019, Albania had the highest number of centenarians in Europe with 845 per 100,000 residents. It was followed by Turkey (213) and Greece (87). Switzerland (18) was in the middle of the table alongside Germany, Hungary and Denmark..

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