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Ruby Hutchins-Perkins

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Customer Care Expert

Last Updated: 12/09/2023

Curious to know who the oldest people in the world are? In this article, we’ve looked at exactly that! Each of these people has lived beyond the age of 110 - making them all supercentenarians.

The oldest people in the world come from several countries and continents, including USA, Japan and the UK.

We’re here to celebrate the lives of these incredible people, as well as look at the oldest men and women ever.

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All of this information is true and correct as of September 2023.

1. Maria Branyas Morera - Born in March 1907 (The Oldest Person in the World)

Credit: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

After Lucile Randon passed away on the 17th of January 2023 and as of September 2023, Maria Branyas Morera is the oldest person in the world as officially recognised by Guinness World Records. She is currently 116 years old.

Morera was born in San Francisco, California, where her Spanish family had emigrated a year beforehand. They later moved back to Spain, living in the region of Catalonia. While heading back to Spain via boat, Morera injured her eardrum in a fall, permanently losing hearing in one ear at the age of eight.

Morera married her husband Joan Moret in 1931, and the pair had three children together. As of 2019, Morera has 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Morera moved into a care home at the age of 93 and holds a string of age-related achievements, including being the last known living person in Europe born in 1907, as well as being the oldest living emigrant.

Age (as of September 2023): 116 years old

Date of Birth: 4 March 1907

Nationality: Spanish

Past Occupation(s): Nurse

Gender: Female

Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Branyas

2. Fusa Tatsumi - Born in April 1907

Credit: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Born as the fifth of six siblings, Fusa Tatsumi lived with her family until the age of 107, at which time she moved into a nursing home.

Before this, Tatsumi studied things like tea ceremony, flower arrangement and Okoto (a classical Japanese musical instrument) at university, allowing her to gain a diploma.

She married Ryutaro Tatsumi at the age of 32 and the pair moved to Kashiwara City in the Japanese Osaka Prefecture.

Tatsumi worked in a family orchard until she was around 55. In this role, she would carry baskets of harvested fruits on her back, with many of her family members saying this physical work has helped her live such a long time.

Today, Tatsumi is the oldest validated living person in Asia, as well as the second-oldest person ever from the Osaka Prefecture.

Age (as of September 2023): 116 years old

Date of Birth: 25 April 1907

Nationality: Japanese

Past Occupation(s): Working in a family orchard

Gender: Female

3. Edie Ceccarelli - Born in February 1908

Edie Ceccarelli was born in California as the first of seven children to Italian immigrants Agostino and Maria Recagno.

Ceccarelli lived in her own home until the age of 107, at which point she moved into a senior living facility. While Ceccarelli has developed dementia, she is still able to walk with the aid of a walker as of her 114th birthday.

Though not the oldest living American-born person, Ceccarelli is currently the oldest known living person in the United States.

Age (as of September 2023): 115 years old

Date of Birth: 5 February 1908

Nationality: American

Gender: Female

4. Tomiko Itooka - Born in May 1908

Tomiko Itooka is the second oldest validated person living in Japan. She was born in the city of Osaka as the second of three siblings. In school, Itooka enjoyed playing volleyball. 

During World War II, Itooka ran a textile factory in South Korea on her husband’s behalf while raising her children.

After her husband passed away in 1979, Itooka spent around 10 years living alone in the Nara Prefecture. Across these 10 years, she frequently climbed Mt. Nijo, and she also climbed Mt. Ontake twice (with this mountain reaching 3,000 metres).

In her 80s, Itooka took part in the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage twice. At 100 years old, she even climbed the long stone steps of the Ashiya Shrine without a cane.

Age (as of September 2023): 115 years old

Date of Birth: 23 May 1908

Nationality: Japanese

Past Occupation(s): Running a textile factory

Gender: Female

5. Inah Canabarro Lucas - Born in June 1908

As a child, many people believed Inah Canabarro Lucas wouldn’t live beyond seven years old, due to being so skinny.

Despite this, Lucas is the oldest person currently living in Latin America. Having become a nun in the 1920s, she’s also the oldest living person in this profession.

In the 1930s, Lucas moved back from Uruguay to Brazil, where she would teach Portuguese and mathematics at a school in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro.

Lucas credits her longevity to God, and only began using a walker aged 110 years old.

Age (as of September 2023): 115 years old

Date of Birth: 8 June 1908

Nationality: Brazilian

Past Occupation(s): Nun, teacher

Gender: Female

Wikipedia Page: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inah_Canabarro_Lucas

6. Juan Vicente Pérez Mora - Born in May 1909

Credit: OrchestralHuman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Juan Vicente Pérez Mora holds the coveted title of being the oldest validated living man in the world. He’s held this title since the 18th of January 2022.

Pérez was born in the Venezuelan town of El Cobre as the ninth child of his parents. While still young, he and his family moved to Los Paujiles, Venezuela, to work in agriculture. Here, Pérez mainly worked in harvesting sugar cane and coffee. At the same time, Pérez taught himself how to read and write using a book given to him by his teacher.

Aged 31, Pérez moved with his wife to Caricuena, Venezuela, where he would buy a farm and work alongside his brother. Pérez would even become the sheriff of this town in 1948!

Pérez enjoyed a large celebration with many of his family members and friends. He says hard work, prayer and drinking a glass of aguardiente every day are the main reasons for his longevity and good health.

Age (as of September 2023): 114 years old

Date of Birth: 27 May 1909

Nationality: Venezuelan

Past Occupation(s): Farmer

Gender: Male

Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Vicente_P%C3%A9rez

7. Elizabeth Francis - Born in July 1909

The oldest known person in the state of Texas, Elizabeth Francis turned 110 in July 2019, making her a supercentenarian.

Francis was born in Louisiana, before later moving to Houston, Texas. During the 1970s, Francis ran a coffee shop at the Houston TV station KTRK-TV.

Francis’ sister Bertha Johnson lived to the age of 106 (1904-2011), making them one of the oldest pairs of siblings on record.

As of February 2021, Francis has three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Age (as of September 2023): 114 years old

Date of Birth: 25 July 1909

Nationality: American

Past Occupation(s): Coffee shop owner

Gender: Female

8. Ethel Caterham - Born in August 1909

The oldest person living in the UK, Ethel Caterham has spent more than the last 50 years living in Surrey, England. She drove until 97 years old and remained a regular bridge player until well into her centenarian years.

At the age of 18, Caterham spent three weeks travelling by boat to India. Here, she worked for three years as a nanny to a British family.

In 1931, Caterham met her future husband Norman, a British Army major. When the pair were stationed in Hong Kong, Caterham started a nursery for local and British children alike. Here, she would teach English, games, arts and crafts.

Age (as of September 2023): 114 years old

Date of Birth: 21 August 1909

Nationality: British

Past Occupation(s): Ran a nursery and worked as a nanny

Gender: Female

9. Okagi Hayashi - Born in September 1909

When Okagi Hayashi became the oldest known living person in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture, she was visited by Junji Kato - the mayor of the city she lives in (Toki City). At this point, Hayashi had 8 children, 22 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

Currently, Hayashi is the fourth-oldest living person in Japan.

Age (as of September 2023): 114 years old

Date of Birth: 2 September 1909

Nationality: Japanese

Gender: Female

10. Pearl Berg - Born in October 1909

At 113 years old, Pearl Berg is the second-oldest known living person in the U.S. state of California, as well as the oldest known living Jewish person. Her parents - Archie and Anna - had Polish and Russian ancestry.

Though Berg claimed to have been born in Louisiana in 1910, research found she was actually born in 1909, in the state of Indiana.

Berg became a member of Temple Israel in 1937. To this day, she still occasionally attends services at the synagogue.

Some of Berg’s favourite pastimes over the years have included book clubs, concerts, plays and bridge.

Age (as of September 2023): 113 years old

Date of Birth: 1 October 1909

Nationality: American

Gender: Female

11. Tane Matsubara - Born in October 1909

Currently living in the Japanese city of Tomakomai, Tane Matsubara was born in October 1909, making her the oldest known living resident in the Hokkaido Prefecture.

Matsubara celebrated her 110th birthday in October 1909, at which point she became a supercentenarian.

Age (as of September 2023): 113 years old

Date of Birth: 15 October 1909

Nationality: Japanese

Gender: Female