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 supercentenarian (aged over 110 years old) whose age has been validated by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, such as the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) or Guinness World Records (GWR) or people who are otherwise notable enough for a Wikipedia article whose birthdate is otherwise well established.
The longest unambiguously documented 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; her case serves as an archetype in the methodology for verifying the ages of the world's oldest people.