Costa Rican Man, 119, May Be World's Oldest Living Person

At 119 years old, Jose Flores greets visitors with a firm handshake and a genuine smile from his simple wooden home in rural Costa Rica. Born on July 11, 1907, he may be the oldest living person on Earth.

Flores lives in the village of Obandito de Sardinal, near the Nicoya Peninsula, one of only five "blue zones" worldwide where people regularly live past 100. His granddaughter cares for him in their modest home, where he still sleeps well, eats heartily, and maintains his independence despite hearing loss and worn knees.

His life story reads like a journey through modern history itself. Orphaned at seven after his mother abandoned him and his father died, he spent his childhood working the fields with his grandmother. As a teenager, he migrated south to work on brutal banana plantations, eventually marrying and settling in northern Costa Rica.

At 75, the government nearly denied him land because officials doubted someone his age could work it. At 113, he still walked a kilometer daily to visit other seniors at a community center. Now at 119, he jokes that he feels "worn and blunt" like a dull machete, but his spirit remains sharp.

The family survives on about $330 monthly, one eighth of Costa Rica's average household income. Despite promises over the years, they've never received the decent housing they were offered. His granddaughter has embraced eldercare as both a calling and potential career, taking courses while caring for her grandfather full time.

Sunny's Take

Flores attributes his longevity to three simple principles: hard work, faith in God, and healthy eating. He lived most of his life eating unprocessed foods, staying physically active, and maintaining strong family and community bonds.

Jorge Vindas from the Península de Nicoya Blue Zone Association sees Flores as embodying the region's functional lifestyle: organic food, constant movement, family support, and the calm of simple routines marked by sunlight and spirituality. It's a combination that has produced an exceptional concentration of centenarians in this part of Costa Rica for generations.

Dr. Jose Antonio Rabadan, a gerontology researcher from Spain who has visited over 70 centenarians in the region, calls Flores "an absolutely extraordinary case." He's working to obtain international certification through the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks people over 110. If verified, Flores would surpass the current oldest living person, England's Ethel Caterham, who turns 117 in August.

Rabadan has strong evidence: Costa Rica's reliable civil registry shows Flores's 1907 birth date, and he has a baptismal record signed by Bishop Luis Leipod that same year. The researcher remains optimistic about verification but cautions that he prefers taking the process step by step.

The current longevity record belongs to France's Jeanne Calment, who reached 122 years and 164 days before dying in 1997. Flores still has a way to go, but researchers emphasize that at 119, there is no "normal" to compare him to.

His granddaughter has learned an important lesson through caring for him: many people treat elderly relatives like furniture, feeding and cleaning them without recognizing their dignity. In their home, Jose has the final say over his belongings and his life.

After nearly a century away, Flores returned to his childhood region in 2024, closing a circle that began 119 years ago in Guanacaste.