Malaga is third province in Spain with most centenarians

MALAGA is among the Spanish provinces with the most centenarians—with a total of 744 people in the province over 100 years old.

There are currently 18,020 people in Spain, some 0.04% of the population, who are 100 years of age or older, with Malaga being the third Spanish province with the highest number of centenarians.

Data shows that these figures are on the rise, with an increase of more than 14,000 centenarians in just 20 years.

The cause of this longevity has not been defined, however, research focuses on several factors: genetics, environmental factors, health and diet.

In Spain, genetics plays a 25% role and environmental factors take 75% of the credit.

In the case of the Costa del Sol, the climate and its more than 300 days of sunshine a year have a great influence on the quality of life.

Another key factor is the access to the Spanish public health system, which has a direct impact on people’s chances of being healthy or cured.

This is complemented by the Mediterranean diet, which prevents cardiovascular diseases and overweight problems.

Doing sport also increases the chances of living longer.

The most centenarian community in the country is Madrid, with e 2,401 centenarians, followed by Barcelona with 1,853 people aged 100 years or more, then Malaga with 744, followed by Valencia with 721.

The provinces with the fewest centenarians are Soria (101); Palencia (95) and Cuenca (94).

According to recent studies, Spain is forecast to have the longest life expectancy in the world by 2040—with a projected average lifespan of nearly 85.8 years.

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