A 121-year-old Vietnamese woman has been announced as the oldest living person, local officials say.

Nguyen Thu Tru lives in Ho Chi Minh City with her youngest son, who is 72. She had 11 children, four of whom are still alive.

“We have sufficient evidence that proves Tru was born on May 4, 1893, such as documents granted by French authorities, by the Republic of South Vietnam and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” said Le Tran Truong An, director of the Vietnam Guinness Book Centre.

An said Guinness World Records would be asked to recognise Tru as the oldest-living woman in the world, to supplant 116-year-old Misao Okawa from Japan.