The Oldest People in the World

The world's oldest man, John Alfred Tinniswood, is turning 112 today at his care home in Merseyside, the United Kingdom. The supercentenarian puts his long life down to “luck” and says that he follows no specific diet, but eats fish and chips on Fridays. Tinniswood, who has lived to see 24 UK prime ministers in office, became the oldest man whose age is validated worldwide after the death of 112-year-old Shi Ping of China in June.

As the following chart shows, the eight oldest people in the world are all women. Tomiko Itooka of Japan leads the list aged 116 years and 95 days. She is joined by two other Japanese nationals, Okagi Hayashi (aged 114 years and 359 days) and Hisako Shiroishi (aged 114 years and 99 days). All entries have been validated by the Gerontology Research Group.

Do these 'supercentenarians' have any advice for living for so long? Emma Morano, who was born in 1899 and died in 2017 at the age of 117 was thought to have been the last person alive to have lived in three different centuries. The Italian apparently put her long life down to leaving her husband in 1938 and the consumption of two raw eggs and some raw minced meat every day.