Oldest Living People (Verified List)
Explore the officially verified list of the ten oldest living people in the world. Every person on this list is a validated supercentenarian — someone who has surpassed the age of 110. This list is updated regularly as new validations are completed and as the ranking changes. Click here for the full list. Learn more about supercentenarians and how their ages are verified in our Methodology section.
| Rank | Name | Age (Years) | Year Born | Country |
| 1 | Ethel Caterham | 116 | 1909 | United Kingdom |
| 2 | Naomi Whitehead | 115 | 1910 | United States |
| 3 | Lucia Laura Sangenito | 115 | 1910 | Italy |
| 4 | Yolanda Beltrão de Azevedo | 115 | 1911 | Brazil |
| 5 | Shigeko Kagawa | 114 | 1911 | Japan |
| 6 | Beatriz Ferreira Duarte | 114 | 1911 | Brazil |
| 7 | Bonita Gibson | 114 | 1911 | United States |
| 8 | Fuyo Kishimoto | 114 | 1911 | Japan |
| 9 | Ilse Meingast | 113 | 1912 | United States |
| 10 | Anonymous | 113 | 1912 | Japan |
1. Ethel Caterham (United Kingdom, born 1909) – 116 years
On 18 September 2025, aged 116.
Ethel Caterham is the oldest living person in the world and the oldest British person ever. She is also the last surviving person born in the 1900s.
Born in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, in 1909, Caterham was the second youngest of eight children. At just 18, she traveled alone by ship to India to work as a nanny — a three-week journey driven by a love of adventure. She married Norman Caterham, a British Army officer, at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933, and the couple lived in Hong Kong and Gibraltar before settling in Surrey to raise two daughters.
After her husband passed away in 1976, she inherited his Triumph Dolomite and kept driving it until she was 97. She was a regular bridge player well into her centenarian years. In 2020, at the age of 110, she contracted and recovered from COVID-19. When asked about the keys to longevity, she said: “Say yes to every opportunity because you never know what it will lead to.”
2. Naomi Whitehead (United States, born 1910) – 115 years
Whitehead commemorating her 115th birthday on 26 September 2025. (Source: J.E. Washington)
Naomi Whitehead is the oldest living person in the United States and the world’s second-oldest living person.
Born on a farm in Georgia in 1910, Whitehead began working at an early age, picking cotton and tobacco alongside her family. Even at 113, she still remembered being afraid of getting kicked by the farm horses. She married Sylvester Whitehead in 1930 and had three sons. She credited her longevity to her family history — her father lived into his 90s — and to never smoking or drinking alcohol.
By her 110th birthday, Whitehead had 12 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, 49 great-great-grandchildren, and three great-great-great-grandchildren — spanning five generations of her family.
3. Lucia Laura Sangenito (Italy, born 1910) – 115 years
In June 2024, aged 113.
(Source: courtesy of family)
Lucia Laura Sangenito is the oldest living person in Italy.
Born in the small town of Sturno, Campania, in 1910, Sangenito worked as an agricultural laborer and served as the town’s midwife, helping deliver generations of Sturno’s children. She married in 1939 and had four children, though two died immediately after birth. Her mother lived to 101, and her husband lived to 98 — dying just one month before her own 100th birthday.
At 107, she fractured her femur and underwent delicate surgery but recovered fully. When interviewed about her long life, she said: “I have made many sacrifices… I am happy with my life, even if I died immediately, I would be happy for what I have experienced.”
4. Yolanda Beltrão de Azevedo (Brazil, born 1911) – 115 years
On 27 December 2025, with LongeviQuest trophy, recognizing her as Brazil’s oldest resident.
Yolanda Beltrão de Azevedo is the oldest living person in Brazil and the first documented supercentenarian from the state of Alagoas.
Born in Coruripe, Alagoas, in 1911, she was the eldest of 15 children. She married Francisco de Araújo Azevedo in 1928, who went on to serve as mayor of Coruripe. She dedicated her life to caring for her family and is an avid crocheter, explaining: “When I crochet, I don’t think about anything else, so I never miss a stitch.”
At the age of 107, she had 13 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, 19 great-great-grandchildren, and one great-great-great-grandchild. Her favorite pastimes include reading books, praying the rosary, and spending time with family. Her youngest sister, Maria Salete, born in 1933, is still living.
5. Shigeko Kagawa (Japan, born 1911) – 114 years
Shigeko Kagawa, 114, with her handwritten calligraphy reading “114 years old” (2025)
Shigeko Kagawa is the oldest living person in Japan and the world’s oldest known Olympic torchbearer.
Born in Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture, in 1911, Kagawa came from a family of physicians and graduated from Osaka Women’s Medical College. She spent decades as an obstetrician and gynecologist, keeping a telephone by her bedside every night to respond to late-night calls from patients. She retired at 86, but former patients still approached her on the street to thank her for saving their lives.
In April 2021, at the age of 109, she carried the Olympic torch for the Tokyo Games, completing her section in a wheelchair pushed by her granddaughter-in-law. She attributes her longevity to walking — as a young doctor, she wore clogs and walked long distances to see patients. At 114, she still reads the newspaper daily with a magnifying glass.
6. Beatriz Ferreira Duarte (Brazil, born 1911) – 114 years
Brazilian Beatriz Ferreira Duarte celebrates her 114th birthday (courtesy of her family)
Beatriz Ferreira Duarte is a Brazilian supercentenarian from Pernambuco.
Born in Moreno, Pernambuco, in 1911, Duarte was one of 12 siblings. She married Amaro Cipriano Duarte and devoted herself entirely to her role as a homemaker. Together they had eight children, though four died as newborns. Her husband passed away in 1990, and her youngest sister, Maria José, lived to 95.
At the age of 113, she had three living children, seven grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter. She celebrated her 114th birthday in June 2025 surrounded by family.
7. Bonita Gibson (United States, born 1911) – 114 years
In April 2023, aged 111. (Source: Social House News)
Bonita Gibson is an American supercentenarian who has spent her life embracing new experiences — even past the age of 100.
Born in Hoxie, Kansas, on the Fourth of July, 1911, Gibson’s childhood was marked by upheaval — when her parents separated, she and her brother were sent to live with relatives in Missouri. She married Kenneth during the Great Depression, and the couple lived in a tent before building a life in Idaho’s potato industry. She survived mumps, measles, and whooping cough as a child, and COVID-19 at the age of 109.
What makes Gibson remarkable is her appetite for firsts: she took her first plane ride at 99, attended her first Detroit Tigers game at 105, and visited a casino for the first time at 106. When asked about the secret to longevity, she advised: “No smoking or drinking. Cut out all the good stuff, actually.”
8. Fuyo Kishimoto (Japan, born 1911) – 114 years
In December 2023, on her 112th birthday. (courtesy of her family)
Fuyo Kishimoto is the second-oldest living person in Japan.
Born in Hamasaka, Hyōgo Prefecture, in 1911, Kishimoto raised her children through the hardships of wartime Japan. In her 60s, she moved to Kyoto Prefecture and worked at a school lunch center, continuing in that role until her mid-80s. She walked a considerable distance to work every day and never missed a single shift.
She has long been a devoted Buddhist, spending about three hours daily reciting sutras from memory — a practice she maintained faithfully for decades. After fracturing a femur at 99 and again at 100, and a serious health scare at 103 that prompted a grave prognosis, she recovered each time. Even at 112, she was eating regular meals on her own and enjoying sweet coffee and snacks.
9. Ilse Meingast (Germany / United States, born 1912) – 113 years
In March 2021, aged 109. (Source: Kaiser Permanente)
Ilse Meingast is the oldest living person in California and the oldest living German-born person.
Born in Berlin in 1912, Meingast emigrated to California in her 30s, where she built a life working as a seamstress. She had three children. In March 2021, at the age of 108, she was vaccinated against COVID-19. She currently resides in Cotati, California.
10. Anonymous of Setagaya Ward (Japan, born 1912) – 113 years
This anonymous woman was born on 14 May 1912 and currently resides in Setagaya, Tokyo. Her age was verified by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare and validated by LongeviQuest in September 2025. In keeping with her family’s wishes, her identity remains private.
For further reading
Oldest People Ever (Verified List)