French records of supercentenarians are more inaccurate than some countries, like England, where records are more complete. Compounding the issue is the fact that the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies refused to accept ages of over 109 on death certificates prior to 1987.
As in other industrialized countries, the number of centenarians in France had increased dramatically by the end of the 20th century.
Jeanne Calment (pictured here on her 121st birthday), of Arles, France, died at 122 in 1997, the longest confirmed human lifespan in history. (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)
