In 2024, the median age in Africa was **** years, meaning that half of the population was older and half was younger than that age. The median age on the continent increased compared to 2000 when it was around ** years. Africa is the youngest continent in the world and presents the highest share of inhabitants aged 14 years and younger, that is, ** percent of the total population. Niger, Uganda, and Angola were the countries with the youngest population in Africa as of 2023.

Africa has the youngest population in the world. Among the 35 countries with the lowest median age worldwide, only three fall outside the continent. In 2023, the median age in Niger was 15.1 years, the youngest country. This means that at this age point, half of the population was younger and half older. A young population reflects several demographic characteristics of a country. For instance, together with a high population growth, life expectancy in Western Africa is low: this reached 57 years for men and 59 for women. Overall, Africa has the lowest life expectancy in the world.

Africa’s population is still growing Africa’s population growth can be linked to a high fertility rate along with a drop in death rates. Despite the fertility rate on the continent, following a constant declining trend, it remains far higher compared to all other regions worldwide. It was forecast to reach 4.12 children per woman, compared to a worldwide average of 2.31 children per woman in 2024. Furthermore, the crude death rate in Africa overall dropped, only increasing slightly during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The largest populations on the continent Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the most populous African countries. In 2023, people living in Nigeria amounted to around 224 million, while the number for the three other countries exceeded 100 million each. Of those, the Democratic Republic of Congo sustained the fourth-highest fertility rate in Africa. Nigeria and Ethiopia also had high rates, with 5.24 and 4.16 births per woman, respectively. Although such a high fertility rate is expected to slow down, it will still impact the population structure, growing younger nations.

List of African countries by median age of the total population and male and female median ages. Niger with an average age of 14.8 years old is the youngest country in Africa and the youngest country in the world.

In 2021, there were around *** million children aged 0-4 years in Africa. In total, the population aged 17 years and younger amounted to approximately *** million. In contrast, only approximately ** million individuals were aged 65 years and older as of the same year. The youngest continent in the world Africa is the continent with the youngest population worldwide. As of 2023, around ** percent of the population was aged 15 years and younger, compared to a global average of 25 percent. Although the median age on the continent has been increasing annually, it remains low at around ***years. There are several reasons behind the low median age. One factor is the low life expectancy at birth: On average, the male and female population in Africa live between 61 and 65 years, respectively. In addition, poor healthcare on the continent leads to high mortality, also among children and newborns, while the high fertility rate contributes to lowering the median age. Cross-country demographic differences Africa’s demographic characteristics are not uniform across the continent. The age structure of the population differs significantly from one country to another. For instance, Niger and Uganda have the lowest median age in Africa, at **** and **** years, respectively. Not surprisingly, these countries also register a high crude birth rate. On the other hand, North Africa is the region recording the highest life expectancy at birth, with Algeria leading the ranking in 2023.

List of African countries by median age. Niger average age is 14.8, the youngest African country and the youngest country in the world. The African islands of Seychelles is the oldest African country with an average age of 36.8.

This statistic shows the median age of the population in South Africa from 1950 to 2100*.The median age is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older. It is a single index that summarizes the age distribution of a population. In 2020, the median age of the South African population was 27.3 years.

This horizontal bar chart displays median age (year) by demonym using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is about countries.

Africa life expectancy for 2025 is 64.64, a 0.41% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Africa life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>64.38</strong>, a <strong>0.41% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Africa life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>64.11</strong>, a <strong>0.45% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Africa life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>63.82</strong>, a <strong>0.46% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

This horizontal bar chart displays median age (year) by democracy type using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is about countries.

Algeria had the highest life expectancy at birth in Africa as of 2023. A newborn infant was expected to live over 77 years in the country. Cabo Verde, Tunisia, and Mauritius followed, with a life expectancy between 77 and 75 years. On the other hand, Chad registered the lowest average, at nearly 54 years. Overall, the life expectancy in Africa was almost 63 years in the same year.

This horizontal bar chart displays median age (year) by ISO 2 country code using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is about countries.

This bar chart displays median age (year) by democracy type using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is about countries.

This horizontal bar chart displays median age (year) by countries yearly using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

South Africa ZA: Population: as % of Total: Aged 15-64 data was reported at 65.671 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 65.613 % for 2016. South Africa ZA: Population: as % of Total: Aged 15-64 data is updated yearly, averaging 56.842 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 65.671 % in 2017 and a record low of 53.937 % in 1966. South Africa ZA: Population: as % of Total: Aged 15-64 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Total population between the ages 15 to 64 as a percentage of the total population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;

This bar chart displays median age (year) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is about countries.

For those born in 2023, the average life expectancy at birth across Africa was 61 years for men and 65 years for women. The average life expectancy globally was 70 years for men and 75 years for women in mid-2023.

Additional information on life expectancy in Africa

With the exception of North Africa where life expectancy is around the worldwide average for men and women, life expectancy across all African regions paints a bleak picture. Comparison of life expectancy by continent shows the gap in average life expectancy between Africa and other continent regions. Africa trails Latin America and the Caribbean, the continent with the second lowest average life expectancy, by 10 years for men and 12 years for women.

Life expectancy in Africa is the lowest globally Moreover, countries from across the African regions dominate the list of countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide. Nigeria and Lesotho had the lowest life expectancy for those born in 2023 for men and women, respectively. However there is reason for hope despite the low life expectancy rates in many African countries. The Human Development index rating in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased dramatically from 0.43 to 0.55 between 2000 and 2021, demonstrating an improvement in quality of life and as a result greater access to vital services that allow people to live longer lives. One such improvement has been successful efforts to reduce the rate of aids infection and research into combating its effects. The number of new HIV infections across Africa has decreased from around 1.3 million in 2015 to 760,000 in 2022.

In 2022, around 55 percent of the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa was aged 15 to 64 years. Moreover, children younger than 15 years constituted a large 42 percent of the inhabitants. Overall, Africa has a young population. Only three percent of the individuals in the Sub-Saharan region were aged 65 years and older. As of 2023, Niger, Uganda, Angola, and Mali had a median age below 16.5 years, the lowest on the continent.

This horizontal bar chart displays median age (year) by countries using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Middle Africa. The data is about countries.

This line chart displays median age (year) by date using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Northern Africa. The data is about countries per year.

Globally, about 25 percent of the population is under 15 years of age and 10 percent is over 65 years of age. Africa has the youngest population worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40 percent of the population is below 15 years, and only three percent are above 65, indicating the low life expectancy in several of the countries. In Europe, on the other hand, a higher share of the population is above 65 years than the population under 15 years. Fertility rates The high share of children and youth in Africa is connected to the high fertility rates on the continent. For instance, South Sudan and Niger have the highest population growth rates globally. However, about 50 percent of the world’s population live in countries with low fertility, where women have less than 2.1 children. Some countries in Europe, like Latvia and Lithuania, have experienced a population decline of one percent, and in the Cook Islands, it is even above two percent. In Europe, the majority of the population was previously working-aged adults with few dependents, but this trend is expected to reverse soon, and it is predicted that by 2050, the older population will outnumber the young in many developed countries. Growing global population As of 2025, there are 8.1 billion people living on the planet, and this is expected to reach more than nine billion before 2040. Moreover, the global population is expected to reach 10 billions around 2060, before slowing and then even falling slightly by 2100. As the population growth rates indicate, a significant share of the population increase will happen in Africa.