Sri Lanka's oldest female Velu Pappani aged 117 years from Dodangoda died at the Nagoda Hospital today. She was living in the Hedaraliya section of Clouden State of Dodangoda Divisional Secretariat in Kaluthara District.

Velu Pappani was born 3rd of May, 1903, according to the Senior Citizens Identity card issued by the Sri Lankan government. Before her death, she was the 2nd oldest person living in Asia. Oldest is the Japanese women Kane Tanaka from Fukuoka. Tanaka was born 2 January 1903.

It’s extremely rare for a person to live more than 115 years. There are fewer than 100 people in recorded history who have indisputably reached this age. The number of centenarians is expected to increase quickly in the future. According to the UK ONS, one-third of babies born in 2013 in the UK are expected to live to 100.

However, according to the 2018 World Bank data, the current life expectancy for Sri Lanka is only 77 years.