We might have figured out the maximum lifespan for human beings

In science fiction, human beings in the far future often live for hundreds of years – but the reality might be rather different.

In fact, there’s a ‘maximum’ lifespan for humans – and we’re already hitting up against it, as it’s around 115.

Dutch statisticians including Professor John Einmahl of Tilburg University analysed the precise age of death of 75,000 Dutch people who died at at least 94 in the past 30 years.

They found that while the number of people who reached 95 is going up – in fact it’s tripled in the past three decades – the maximum age people are reaching hasn’t increased.

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That suggests, according to statistical Extreme Value Theory, that there’s a ‘clear ceiling’ for the maximum age to which people live.

For men it’s 114.1 years, and for women it’s 115.7 years.

The researchers write, ‘This maximum age has not increased in the period under review, from 1986 until 2015, even though the number of people reaching the age of 95 almost trebled.

Birthday (Rex)

‘The maximum ages mentioned above are estimates; the true values can deviate upwards to just above 120 years.’

Extreme Value Theory is a branch of statistics that answers questions about extreme events (which, by definition, do not often occur) based on information about less extreme events.