Centenarians is pronounced
Cen-ten-air-e-ans
U.S. Centenarian Statistics
Based on the 2010 figures, the United Nations believes there are about 316,000 centenarians worldwide.
The United States has the highest number of centenarians, about 97,000. The highest percentage of centenarians is in Japan. The region of the world that has the highest percentage is in Scandinavia. By the year 2050, it is predicted China will have the most by number.
North Dakota has the highest per capita rate in the U.S. with over three centenarians per every 10,000 persons. It’s believed there are about 550 centenarians in Oklahoma.
80% of all centenarians are women, 33% live alone, 25% are Veterans The percentage of centenarian men who lived with a family member or members is 44%. The most common setting for centenarian women is living in a nursing home (35%).
A person who lives to make it to age 110 is called a supercentenarian and only one out of every 1000 centenarians reaches 110.
SUPERCENTENARIANS
UNITED STATES:
The oldest known supercentenarian living in America is Naomi Whitehead, who lives in Pennsylvania and was born on 26 September, 1910. She has outlived her three sons and has 12 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, 49 great-great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-great-grandchildren.
WORLDWIDE:
Ethel Catherham of Surrey, England, is the world’s oldest living person as of 30 April, 2025. She was born on the 21 August 1909, the second youngest of eight children. Ethel inherited her husband’s Triumph Dolomite after his passing and continued driving it until she was 97. She remained active well into her old age, playing bridge regularly as a centenarian. At the age of 110, Ethel moved to a care home shortly after her daughter’s death. Becoming a supercentenarian and moving to a care home didn’t slow Ethel down. Later in 2020, she contracted and successfully recovered from Covid-19, making her one of the oldest known survivors of the disease.
Oklahoma’s Centenarian Statistics
The population of OK is just over 3.5 million. 550/3,500,000=5.5/35,000. This means there is 1 centenarian for every 7,143 people in our state.
Our oldest known living man in Oklahoma is Prabhakar Dhotrekar of Stillwater; date of birth February 5, 1919.
Our oldest known living woman in Oklahoma is SUPERCENTENARIAN Fannie Jones of Oklahoma City was born on August 21, 1913.
SUPERCENTENARIAN Lois Boston, formerly of Guymon, now lives in Kansas, was born on May 10, 1913. SUPERCENTENARIAN Viola Ford Fletcher formerly of Tulsa, now lives in Texas, was born on May 10, 1914. SUPERCENTENARIAN Lessie Benningfield Randle of Tulsa was born on November 10, 1914.
Living centenarians with six generation families that have been honored are: Viola Fletcher, Jannetta Walls, and Phyllis White.
In modern times, our oldest supercentenarian died in 2015 at the age of 114. Ora Holland lived in Tulsa most of her life, moving to OKC for the last four years.
We currently have about 300 living inducted centenarians in the state. We would like to double that number! Please let us know of anyone approaching or over the age of 100.
Centenarians of Oklahoma Statistics
There are believed to be 400-500 centenarians living in Oklahoma. On average, there are about 300 living centenarians in Oklahoma that we have honored. Additionally, there are about 50 other centenarians that we are attempting to locate, recognize, and honor.
To date, over 3000, centenarians have been honored in the state. The historical records of these people are in Tulsa, currently in the offices of Centenarians of Oklahoma. Once a Centenarian passes, their records are filed at the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma City. Boston University has recognized our program as the only one in the United States, and this is all possible due to the efforts of volunteers and donations.
It is our intent to grow the program by honoring more than 125 centenarians in 2025, and greater numbers in years after that. Toward that goal, we will add additional people to our volunteer group, as needed.
Our continued success is made possible with the support of our donors…
The work performed through the Centenarians of Oklahoma could not happen without generous supporters like you.
We operate by volunteers while providing this special honor to our “Golden Okies”.
Thank you for your continued support.