In this league, women win by a landslide. In the ranking of the eight oldest people in the world (as of July 26 of this year) there is only one man. And he is very far from the first position; He occupies sixth place on this longevity list. That man's name is Vicente Pérez and he is 114 years old. He lives in the Venezuelan Andes and has worked in the fields all his life. Vicente has 11 children, 18 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.
The 114 years of this Venezuelan farmer are, however, far from the 122 and 146 days that Jeanne Calment, a French citizen known in documented history of longevity, supposedly served as the person who has lived the longest in this world. Although some sources suggest that this woman could have impersonated her daughter and she would actually be 23 years younger.
Jeanne spent her entire long life in Arles, the city where she was born in February 1875. She died in 1997. Her secret? She practiced fencing until she was 85 years old, at 100 she still occasionally rode a bicycle and she did not use a cane until she was 114. She stopped smoking late, at 117 years old.
Several studies were also carried out on Jeanne's case to search for the origin of the elixir of such a long life. The conclusion in this case yielded little scientific data. It was found that she led a very calm life with little stress. This is what is repeated when she investigates the lives of the majority of centenarians, who are increasingly numerous in this world.
Another proof of the landslide victory of women against men in this race of life is in the list of the four oldest people in this world. Those who are known to have lived longer. In the lead, with 122 compliments, is Jeanne Calment. She is followed by the Japanese Kane Tanaka, who died in 2022 at the age of 119 years and 107 days, making her the second person who has lived the longest. In third place is the American Sarah Knauss, who died at the age of 119 (she lived fewer days than Jeanne), and this list closes with Lucile Randon, who died at the age of 118, making it the Catalan Maria Branyas Morera (116 years old) in the oldest person alive today.
If the longevity list were made only of men, the one who has lived the longest is a Japanese man named Jiroemon Kimura. He died in 2013 at 116 years and 54 days. In second place in this ranking is Christian Mortensen, a Dane who emigrated to the United States. He lived 115 years and 252 days and died on April 25, 1998 in California. Your advice to him for living so long? “A good cigarette, drink lots of good water, no alcohol, stay positive and sing a lot,” he said on his 115th birthday.
These longevity records could, however, have their days numbered. Researchers from the University of Georgia believe that the figure of 122 years and 146 days lived by Jeanne Calment will be surpassed in a few decades. The model used in their study takes into account, with the current comforts and living conditions in the most advanced societies, that mortality rates increase from the age of 50, but then stabilize at much older ages.
What is confirmed is that life expectancy is increasing in almost everyone, although this is not an indicator of the maximum longevity of people (which would be relevant with a view to breaking the record of Jeanne Calment or Jane Tanaka) but rather the average longevity of the population.
Spain enjoys, as far as life expectancy is concerned, good health. According to data published by Eurostat, our country is the third in Europe with the highest life expectancy (83.3 years). These are data referring to 2021. The first two positions on that list are occupied by Switzerland (83.9 years) and Liechtenstein (84.4 years). After Spain come Norway and Iceland (83.2 years), Sweden (83.1 years) and Luxembourg and Italy (82.7 years). Ukraine (71.19 years), Bulgaria (71.4 years), Romania and Serbia (72.8 years) are at the bottom of Europe.
