A supercentenarian is someone who is 110 years old or older.
Life expectancy has increased in recent years due to better access to healthcare and healthier living standards.
In the past, most people died younger because medicine had not yet advanced enough to treat certain illnesses.
Here are the oldest living people on earth right now:
1. Tomiko Itooka
Tomiko, a Japanese woman, has become the world’s oldest living person at 116 years old, following the death of Maria Branyas.
Born on May 23, 1908, she is confirmed by the Gerontology Research Group and is at the top of its World Supercentenarian Rankings List.
She climbed Mount Ontake twice in her 70s, participated in the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in her 80s, and ascended the steps of Japan’s Ashiya Shrine at 100 without a cane.
Despite her achievements, she still enjoys eating bananas and her favourite yogurt-flavored drink, Calpis.
2. Inah Canabarro Lucas
Born on June 8, 1908, in São Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, she is the second-oldest nun in history and the world’s second-oldest validated living person after Tomiko Itooka.
She was a kindergarten teacher at Santa Tereza de Jesus High School and taught João Figueiredo, the 30th Brazilian president.
3. Ethel May Caterham
This British supercentenarian is the oldest living person in the United Kingdom and Edward VII’s (Queen Elizabeth II’s father) last remaining subject.
She is 115 years old and is also the fourth-oldest living person in the world and the oldest European since Maria Branyas’ death on August 19, 2024.
Ethel drove until she was 97 and was an avid bridge player in her centenarian years.
4. Elizabeth Francis
This 115-year-old American supercentenarian has been the oldest living person in the United States since February 22, 2024, when Edie Ceccarelli died. Francis is African American and was born in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
Francis has never smoked and frequently grows vegetables in her backyard. She attributes her long life to her faith in God.
5. John Alfred Tinniswood
John Alfred Tinniswood, the world’s oldest living man, has turned 112 at his care home in Merseyside, United Kingdom.
Born in 1912, Tinniswood attributed his long life to “just luck” and did not follow a special diet except for eating fish and chips every Friday.
He became the world’s oldest living man earlier this year, inheriting the title from Juan Vicente Pérez.
While some people believe Africans may live longer than other races, the lack of documentation of birth makes it difficult to determine and verify their true ages.
