The 39th president on Friday reached the age of 94 years, 172 days - one day beyond the lifespan of George H.W. Bush, who died in November.

Both men were one-term presidents born in 1924.

Carter was elected in 1976 on the heels of the Watergate scandal that drove Richard Nixon from office. Ronald Reagan trounced Carter in 1980 with Bush as his vice presidential running mate.

Carter remains active in human rights advocacy through the Carter Centre that he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded in 1982.

The Carters still live in Plains, Georgia, the small town where they were born, raised and married in 1946 after Jimmy Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy.

Australian Associated Press