Maria Branyas, 117, is considered the oldest person in the world. She lives in a residence in Olot (Girona) and celebrated her anniversary last Monday.

Researchers point to privileged genetics and positive habits as reasons for her longevity. In Spain there are almost 20,000 people over 100 years old, of which 758 are over 105. The sample of those over 110 is so reduced that the National Institute of Statistics does not have legal authorization to specify the exact figure for “data protection” and “statistical secrecy”