Yoda became a popular Star Wars character when he first appeared in 1980, audiences were surprised when the small, old creature turned out to be the great Jedi master that Obi-Wan had talked about earlier in the movie.
Master Yoda’s Age When He Died
As the Star Wars story grew over the years, Yoda remained mysterious, we still do not know the name of Yoda’s home planet or the name of his species, only a few others of his species have been seen including Yaddle and Grogu from “The Mandalorian” TV show, one thing we know is that this species seems to live very long lives.
In “The Mandalorian” TV series, we were told Grogu was 50 years old even though he looked like a young child, Yoda also said at times that he had lived for hundreds of years, but how old was Yoda when he died in Return of the Jedi?
There are two times Yoda mentions his age in the original movies, in “The Empire Strikes Back” he says he trained Jedi for 800 years, in “Return of the Jedi” he tells Luke “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.”
Taking Yoda’s words literally, this means he died at 900 years old, he may have rounded the numbers since a year or two does not matter much when you are 900 years old. Unless we learn more, we have to assume Yoda passed away at 900 years old.
Looking closer, if Yoda trained Jedi for 800 years by the original trilogy and he was 900 years old, then he must have started training Jedi around 100 years old, since Grogu is 50, he is already halfway to the age Yoda started training.
Master Yoda’s Age in Human Years
The answer to how old Yoda was varies depending on where you look, The United Nations World Population Prospects says the average human life span worldwide was 72 years in 2022, Using this we can say Yoda’s species ages one human year for every 12.5 of their own years, a different source called The Knowledge Burrow suggests Yoda’s species ages one human year for every 10 of their own years instead.
No matter which source you use, it is safe to say that Yoda was between 72 and 90 years old in human years when he died, but there is a problem when you consider Yoda said he trained Jedi for 800 years, If you divide 800 by 12.5, it means Yoda started training Jedi at 8 human years old, this seems very unlikely compared to other known Jedi accomplishments.
There is a theory that suggests Yoda’s species ages slowly for the first 50 years, then ages rapidly between 51 and 100 years old, this could explain why Grogu looks so young at 50 in “The Mandalorian”, it also means Yoda could have become a Jedi Knight at 100 human years old, we may find out if Grogu develops the same way as more episodes of “The Mandalorian” are made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yoda was born in 896 BBY
Yoda was approximately 864 years old in “The Phantom Menace”
Yoda was 877 years old during his duel with Palpatine in “Revenge of the Sith”
Yoda was 899 years old when he began training Luke Skywalker
