Half the baby girls and one-third of the baby boys born today will reach the age of 100, according to new calculations by the Dutch demographic institute.

The new forecast illustrates just how much life expectancy has risen. Just 1% of the people born 100 years ago are still alive.

The NIDI thinks girls born today will reach an average age of 96, while boys will average of 92.

The institute has taken the increase in health issues such as obesity into account in its calculations. ‘People will become ill but we don’t expect many of them to die,’ a spokesman told news agency ANP.