<P> This is a list of tables of the oldest people in the world in ordinal ranks . To avoid including false or unconfirmed claims of extreme old age, names here are restricted to those people whose ages have been validated by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, such as the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) or Guinness World Records (GWR), and others who have otherwise been reliably sourced . </P> <P> According to this criterion, the longest human lifespan is that of Jeanne Calment of France (1875--1997), who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days . She met Vincent van Gogh when she was 12 or 13 . She received news media attention in 1985, after turning 110 . Subsequent investigation found documentation for Calment's age, beyond any reasonable question, in the records of her native city, Arles, France . More evidence of Calment's lifespan has been produced than for any other supercentenarian, such that her case serves as an archetype in the methodology for verifying the ages of the world's oldest people . </P> <P> As women live longer than men on average, combined records for both sexes are dominated by women . The longest undisputed lifespan for a man is that of Jiroemon Kimura of Japan (1897--2013), who died at age 116 years, 54 days . </P>

Who lived to be the oldest person in the world