More than 10 million people in the UK, who are currently alive, are expected to live to more than 100, according to government figures.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) predicts the number of centenarians will rise steeply in the next 70 years, with 17% of the UK's current 62 million residents reaching that landmark age.

Three million of these are currently under 16, while 5.5 million are between 16 and 50 and 1.3 million are between 51 and 65. A further 875,000 of the projected centenarians are already over 65.

The DWP projects that by 2080, there could be 626,900 people in the UK aged 100 or more; 21,000 of those would be at least 110.

This is more than 53 times greater than the current number of centenarians (11,800). At present there are fewer than 100 people who are older than 110.

The number of people aged over 100 is expected to nearly double between 2030 and 2035, when it is projected there will be 97,300 centenarians in the UK. It is then expected to more than double again during the next decade, at 202,100 by 2045.

It is estimated that by 2066 there will be at least 507,000 people in the UK aged 100 or over, including 7,700 aged 110 or more.

But increasing longevity is likely to put considerable pressure on pensions systems, as people face spending a growing proportion of their life in retirement.

The pensions minister, Steve Webb, said: "These staggering figures really bring home how important it is to plan ahead for our later lives.

"Many millions of us will be spending around a third of our lives or more in retirement in the future.

"That's why we are reforming the pension system to make it sustainable for the long term, making sure people can look forward to a decent state pension when they retire, and helping millions save into a workplace pension, many for the first time."