In their contributions to the debate on exceptional longevity, several scholars have noted the
existence of spatial hot spots, or areas with a high concentration of individuals who have survived
to very high ages (e.g. Sardinia in Italy or Okinawa in Japan). However, most of these
studies were based on a small number of cases. This study investigates the spatial pattern of
exceptional longevity in Germany by place of birth and place of death. We used a large dataset
of exceptional longevity that covered all recorded individuals who reached the age of 105
in Germany in the period 1991 to 2002 (N: 1,339). Our research results show that, even in
Germany, with its troubled 20th-century past, most of the semi-supercentenarians reached the
age of exceptional longevity in the same region in which they were born. The discovery of
this highly localised pattern supports the view that an investigation of regional variation in
exceptional longevity can produce meaningful results. In our analysis of spatial variation, we
were able to detect hot spots of exceptional longevity in Berlin and in north-western Germany.
These findings are remarkable, as life expectancy in Germany is currently characterised
by a south-north gradient, with the areas of highest life expectancy at birth being located
in the south. The observed pattern of exceptional longevity instead reflects the life expectancy
at birth pattern in Germany in the early 20th century and to some degree also the current life
expectancy at age 80 pattern. Our findings might be interpreted as support to the argument
that early and late life conditions might play an important role in explaining spatial variation
of exceptional longevity in Germany.