The maximum age a human can live to, according to scientists

Nobody knows how long they get to live for, but if you can get to 100, it’s considered almost unheard of. Except you might be able to physically live longer than even that if scientists are correct in their calculations.

There always has been an interest in aging, and mostly slowing it – ahem, biohacker Bryan Johnson.

But instead of trying to live longer via a range of unusual methods, you might be better off listening to these figures presented by statisticians at Tilburg and Rotterdam's Erasmus universities.

There, they used this data to determine the 'maximum' age humans can live to, and it’s pretty old.

The researchers figured this out through conducting a study of 75,000 deceased people.

There, they analyzed the ages the subjects died in 30 or so years up to 2017.

Looking at the data, the researchers were able to determine that a person's maximum lifespan plateaus in their nineties, and much more.

However, since many of us likely know someone who has made it to their 100th birthday or beyond, it's clear that life doesn't necessarily end there.

Instead, the researchers suggested that the maximum age a human is likely to live to is 115.

Women also fare slightly better than men when it comes to longevity, as the research revealed that the maximum lifespan for a female tops out at 115.7 years, while men were estimated to reach a maximum age of 114.1 years.

Professor John Einmahl, one of three scientists conducting the study, discussed the revelation in an interview with AFP, saying: "On average, people live longer, but the very oldest among us have not gotten older over the last thirty years.

"There is certainly some kind of a wall here. Of course the average life expectancy has increased. Nevertheless, the maximum ceiling itself hasn't changed."

While the research found that it is unlikely a human will live beyond 115, Einmahl admitted there are instances of people bending the norm and living beyond these suggested maximum lifespans.

The oldest man ever verified by the Guinness World Records (GWR) was a Japanese man named Jiroemon Kimura, who lived to be 116 years old.

And early last year, French nun Sister André passed away at the grand old age of 118.

In September 2024, Guinness World Records awarded Japan resident Tomiko Itooka as the current oldest living person.

Born in May 1908, Itooka is now more than 116 years old, and she received her official GWR certificate on the Respect for the Aged Day; a Japanese public holiday created to honor the country’s elderly citizens.