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Top 10 oldest political leaders in the world 2025

Top 10 oldest political leaders in the world 2025 list: Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, is the oldest head of state worldwide at 92 years old in 2025 and has been in power since 1982.

The world's top 10 oldest leaders in 2025.

The world's top 10 oldest state of heads in 2025.

Top 10 oldest political leaders in the world 2025: Many countries are today governed by leaders in their 70s, 80s, and even 90s, marking what some might refer to as a golden age for leaders in their later years.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is the oldest head of state at 92 and was the country’s prime minister six years before that, which also makes him the longest-ruling non-royal authoritarian leader still in power.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has been in power since 1982. (Photo: X/@AfricaFactsZone)

Despite growing frustration among many citizens and calls for him to step down, Biya has recently announced he will run for another seven-year term in October The Guardian reports.

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India’s three-time Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is 74 years old, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are 72 years old.

10 oldest political leaders in the world, as of 2025:

Statista has compiled the list of the oldest heads of state, which comprise both strictly ceremonial roles, such as King Harald V of Norway and the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and others holding political powers.

The list continues with leaders in their early 80s; below are the world’s top 10 oldest political leaders as of 2025.

Sno.	Leader Name	Age	Position	Country
1	Paul Biya	91	President	Cameroon
2	Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud	89	King	Saudi Arabia
3	Harald V	87	King	Norway
4	Ali Khamenei	85	Supreme Leader	Iran
5	Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	84	Emir	Kuwait
6	Michael Higgins	83	President	Ireland
7	Sergio Mattarella	83	President	Italy
8	Alassane Outtara	83	President	Cote d’Ivoire
9	Nangolo Mbumba	83	President	Namibia
10	Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo	82	President	Equatorial Guinea

Source: The list compiled by Statista referring to the data from CIA World Leaders list | Data as of: January 2025

Note:

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It’s important to note that the original list featured Pope Francis, the former head of state of Vatican City, in third position. As he passed away in April this year, at the age of 88, he is no longer the current head of state and the state is presently led by the newly elected Pope Leo XIV (age 69) as of July 2025.

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Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More

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