Australians' life expectancy has risen by more than 10 years in the past five decades but it remains rare for a person to celebrate their 110th birthday.
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A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows Aussie males are expected to live to 81.3 years and women to 85.4 years.
The number of people living to 100 or older has significantly grown in the past six decades.
In 1964, centenarians made up 0.08 per cent of deaths compared to 1.4 per cent in 2021.
In 2021 the most common age at death was 87 years for men and 91 years for women.
And the leading cause of death was coronary heart disease for men and dementia including Alzheimer's disease for women.
Australia's oldest living person was 114-year-old Christina Cock who died in 2002, according to the AIHW.
Women make up the top five oldest Australians with the oldest man 111-year-old Dexter Kruger who died in 2021.
"While there is no clear answer to the question, 'How long can Australians live?', we all know that average life expectancy keeps on increasing," AIHW spokesperson Richard Juckes said.
"The increased life expectancy in Australia is largely attributed to improved medical knowledge and technology, health care availability such as the widespread accessibility to antibiotics and vaccines, improved living conditions and overall better quality of life."
Australia's life expectancy of 83.2 years is one of the highest in the world, ranking fifth among 38 OECD countries.
But the life expectancy of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population born in 2015-2017 is 8.6 years lower for males and 7.8 years lower for females.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Japan leads the world with a life expectancy of 84.7 years followed closely by Switzerland, Korea and Spain.
The oldest living person in the world is believed to be an 122-year-old who died in France in 1997.
Leading causes of death in Australia
In 2021 the leading causes of death for males was coronary heart disease and for females dementia including Alzheimer's disease.
The top five causes causes of death are the same across men and women but rank differently.
Also in the top five are lung cancer, cerebrovascular disease which includes stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
However leading causes of death vary by age.
For people aged 15 to 44 the leading causes of death in 2019-2021 were suicide, accidental poisoning and land transport accidents.
For children aged one to 14 it was land transport accidents followed by perinatal and congenital conditions, and brain cancer.
And for babies aged under 12 months, perinatal and congenital conditions were the leading cause of death.
These include respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, birth trauma and congenital malformations.
