Spanish pensioner Maria Branyas Morera, the world oldest verified living person, has died, aged 117.
Branyas, who survived two pandemics, the 1918 Spanish flu and Covid, and two world wars, died peacefully in her sleep according to her family.
She previously attributed her longevity to ‘order, tranquillity’ and ‘staying away from toxic people’.
Her impressive 117 lifespan is far in excess of even the highest predicted in the UK.
Here, MailOnline reveals how your local area compares for life expectancy — as some regions see a dramatic fall in the average length of survival.
It means children born in some parts of the UK today could die a decade earlier than young residents of other regions.
Maria Branyas Morera, who was the oldest person in the world, celebrating her 117th birthday in March
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows women in the wealthy borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London enjoy the highest average life expectancy at age 65 in England at 88.3 years.
This was followed by those in the South Hams District of Devon (88.2 years) and Winchester in Hampshire (88 years).
Men in Hart in Hampshire had the highest life expectancy at 86.2 years, followed by those in South Cambridgeshire (85.51).
East Devon and Winchester came joint third at 85.46 year life expectancy.
In contrast men in Manchester had the lowest average life expectancy at just 80.8 years, about six years less than those in Hart.
This was followed by those in Barking and Dagenham in East London at 81 years with Liverpool and Blackpool coming joint third lowest at just a fraction more at 81.04 years.
Women in Blaenau Gwent in southeast Wales had the lowest average life expectancy for those aged 65 at 82.8, again about six years less than those in the highest performing areas.
This was followed by women in Manchester (83.2 years) and those in Knowsley in Merseyside (83.3 years).
But the above data relates to adults currently in their 60s — and the picture is bleaker for children born today.
A boy born in Hart between 2020 and 2022 can expect to reach his 83rd birthday (83.7) and, while the highest recorded, is three years behind what a man who is 65 at the same time in that area is expected to live to.
Meanwhile, a boy born in Blackpool will likely only live to 73 (73.41), a gap of more than a decade compared to Hart.
Branyas was born in San Francisco in 1907. Pictured: Branyas in 1925 when she was just 18
Branyas became the world’s oldest person following the death of French nun Lucile Randon in January 2023
Disparities are also present for girls, one born in Kensington and Chelsea between 2020 and 2022 should get to 86 (86.34), two years less than a woman aged 65 in the area at the same time.
Meanwhile girls born in Blaenau Gwent in the same period will likely only live until 78, a gap of 7.5 years compared to their peers in London.
Stark divides remain between the north and south, with nine of the ten local authorities with the highest male life expectancy falling in the south of England. All ten for women were in the south.
The ONS estimates are based on a figure called period life expectancy.
This a hypothetical measure that assumes the mortality rates recorded in an area between 2020 to 2022 applies throughout a person’s life.
It uses the death registrations in the period from 2020 to 2022 for each age group, the probability of death and numbers of people surviving in each group to come to this figure.
Stark divides remain between the north and south, with nine of the ten local authorities with the highest male life expectancy falling in the south of England. All ten for women were in the south. A girl born in Kensington and Chelsea (pictured), which ranked first among girls, should get to 86 (86.34)
Yet their peers in Blaenau Gwent (pictured) will likely only live until 78, a gap of 7.5 years. The south west and south east of England recorded the highest life expectancy among both men (80 and 80.1 years) and women (83.9 and 83.8 years)
The ONS is keen to emphasise that is it an assumption that current trends will continue and, if the health of the nation were to improve, children born in 2020 and 2022 will not necessarily live shorter lives than those who came before.
Life expectancy across the three UK nations included in the most recent analysis fell to its lowest level in more than a decade.
According to the latest statistics, boys and girls born in England came in at 78.9 years for men and 82.8 among women, down from 79.1 for men and 82.9 for women in 2012.
Wales ranked lower with 77.9 years for men and 81.8 years with women, down from 78.1 for men and. 82.1 for women recorded a decade prior.
Meanwhile, the figures stood at 78.4 and 82.3, respectively for men and women, in Northern Ireland, again a decline on the 77.7 and 82.1 in 2021.
Statisticians have suggested the Covid pandemic could be behind the trend both in terms of the virus itself and the disruption the pandemic posed to checks for heart health and cancer.
The data also covers the period in which Britain was plunged into a cost of living crisis, which experts warned increased the risk of malnourishment due to high food and energy prices.
These ONS figures, the latest available, cover average life expectancy meaning some people will live less and others far longer.
According to the analysts, boys and girls born in England are expected to live the longest, at 78.9 for men and 82.8 among women. By local authority, a boy born in Hart can expect to reach his 83rd birthday (83.74), the longest life expectancy recorded. Pictured, Hartley in Hart
Meanwhile, one born in Blackpool (pictured) will likely only live to 73 (73.41), a gap of more than a decade. Uttlesford in Essex came in second at 82.69, with South Cambridgeshire in third at 82.65
Promisingly, there were about 15,000 centenarians (those who live to over 100) living in England and Wales in 2022 according to the latest data, the highest ever recorded.
The vast majority of British centenarians, about four out of five, are women.
Centenarians still remain a fraction of the overall population however, only accounting for 0.03 per cent.
When it came to Ms Branyas, experts had marvelled at her overall mental and physical health for her age, but in a heartbreaking final message to her social media followers on Tuesday, she warned that she felt ‘weak’.
‘The time is near. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears. And above all, don’t suffer for me,’ she said on the account, which is run by her family. ‘Wherever I go, I will be happy.’
Guinness World Records had officially acknowledged Branyas’s status as the world’s oldest person in January 2023 following the death of French nun Lucile Randon aged 118.
There were about 15,000 centenarians living in England and Wales in 2022 according to the latest data, the highest ever recorded, and a rise of 3.7 per cent on the previous year
Jeanne Calment — who holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest person ever — reached 122 years old. Pictured, Ms Calment enjoys her daily cigarette and glass of red wine on the occasion of her 117th birthday
Following Branyas’s death, the oldest living person in the world is now Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908 and is 116 years old.
The title of the oldest person to have ever lived belongs to French woman Jeanne Louise Calment whose life spanned 122 years and 164 days.
Branyas was born in San Francisco in 1907 while the city was suffering from a second wave of the Bubonic plague.
Her family took the decision to return to Spain in 1915 during the First World War after her father fell ill.
He ended up dying of tuberculosis on the ship they were crossing the Atlantic on, with his now-centenarian daughter injuring herself in a fall during the same voyage and later discovering she had lost her hearing in one ear.
She went on to survive two world wars, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently Covid.
She married Catalan doctor Joan Moret aged 23 in 1931. Her husband died more than 46 years ago when he was 71.
