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.

In 2024, Italy was the European country with the oldest population, recording a median age of 48.7 years, closely ahead of Bulgaria and Portugal, with 47 years. In general, almost all European countries have a median age above 40 years old. Only Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, and Kosovo had a median age below 35 years old. Kosovo was the youngest territory of the continent in terms of median age.

This statistic shows the countries with the lowest projected median age in 2050. By 2050, Niger is projected to have the population with the lowest median age at 19 years old.

In 2024, Japan was estimated to have the highest median age of the G7 countries at 49.4 years. Italy followed behind with 47.9 years. On the other hand, the United States had the lowest at just 38.3. Germany had an increasing median age until 2016, before the curve started to flatten. This is because of the increased number of immigrants arriving in the country at the time, particularly in the aftermath of the Syrian Civil War.

Monaco is the country with the highest median age in the world. The population has a median age of around 56 years, which is around six years more than in Japan and Saint Pierre and Miquelon – the other countries that make up the top three. Southern European countries make up a large part of the top 20, with Italy, Slovenia, Greece, San Marino, Andorra, and Croatia all making the list. Low infant mortality means higher life expectancy Monaco and Japan also have the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, which contributes to the calculation of a higher life expectancy because fewer people are dying in the first years of life. Indeed, many of the nations with a high median age also feature on the list of countries with the highest average life expectancy, such as San Marino, Japan, Italy, and Lichtenstein. Demographics of islands and small countries Many smaller countries and island nations have populations with a high median age, such as Guernsey and the Isle of Man, which are both island territories within the British Isles. An explanation for this could be that younger people leave to seek work or education opportunities, while others choose to relocate there for retirement.

In 2023, the median age of the population in Thailand was 39.7 years, which was the oldest median age across Southeast Asia. Comparatively, the median age of Timor-Leste's population was 21 years in 2023.

This statistic shows the median age of the population among Middle Eastern countries in 2020. In Kuwait, the median age of the population was 36.8 years old in 2020, in comparison with a median population age of 20.8 in Palestine.

In 2024, the median age in Africa was 19.2 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 17 years. Africa is the youngest continent in the world and presents the highest share of inhabitants aged 14 years and younger, that is, 40 percent of the total population. Niger, Uganda, and Angola were the countries with the youngest population in Africa as of 2023.

According to 2023 estimations, Monaco's population had the highest median age of 56.2 years worldwide. Furthermore, the lowest listed countries are all from the African continent, with Niger recording a median age of nearly 15 years old.

In 2023, the median age of the population in Sri Lanka was 32.8 years. Contrastingly, the median age of the population in Pakistan was 20.3 years in 2023.

The lowest median age of the population in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was recorded in Tajikistan, at around 22.1 years in 2024. Among the CIS countries, Ukraine, and Belarus, the latter had the highest median age, at below 43 years. In 2100, the highest figure was expected in Armenia, at 53 years. Between 2024 and 2100, Armenia's median age of the population was forecast to grow by more than 18 years. The median age divides the population into two equal groups, where one half is older and the other half is younger.

In 2022, the state with the highest median age of its population was Maine at 45.1 years. Utah had the lowest median age at 32.1 years. View the distribution of the U.S. population by ethnicity here.

Additional information on the aging population in the United States

High birth rates during the so-called baby boom years that followed World War II followed by lower fertility and morality rates have left the United States with a serious challenge in the 21st Century. However, the issue of an aging population is certainly not an issue unique to the United States. The age distribution of the global population shows that other parts of the world face a similar issue.

Within the United States, the uneven distribution of populations aged 65 years and over among states offers both major challenges and potential solutions. On the one hand, federal action over the issue may be contentious as other states are set to harbor the costs of elderly care in states such as California and Florida. That said, domestic migration from comparably younger states may help to fill gaps in the workforce left by retirees in others.

Nonetheless, aging population issues are set to gain further prominence in the political and economic decisions made by policymakers regardless of the eventual distribution of America’s elderly. Analysis of the financial concerns of Americans by age shows many young people still decades from retirement hold strong concern over their eventual financial position.

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.

The median age of the population of Belgium aged slightly from 2010 to 2021. The median age divides a population into two equal-sized groups. This single index summarizes the age distribution of Belgians. In other words, half of the Belgian population was younger than 41.98 years old in 2021, and the remaining half was aged over 41.98 years.

Median ages of the population around the world

Median ages vary greatly across the globe. This measure is influenced by several factors, such as birth rates, social and economic factors, and average life expectancies within countries. From a European perspective, Belgium’s population median age was slightly lower than in the Netherlands, yet higher than Luxembourg in 2020. In other words, Belgium’s population was younger than in the Netherlands, yet not as young as in Luxembourg. Currently, Germany had one of the highest median age in Europe alongside with the principality of Monaco. Outside of Europe, however, median age ranged from as low as 15 in Niger to 48.4 in Japan.

Similar median ages for different population structures

Two countries can have similar median ages, yet their populations have different age profiles. For instance, some countries may have large shares of young adults and not many children or older people, whereas some countries can have large shares of children and older people and not many young adults. These differences in terms of structuration of the population can be overlooked when comparing this index between countries. Nonetheless, the median age is crucial to fathom whether a population is aging or not. In Belgium, the population was slowly but steadily aging over the last decade.

In 2021, there were around 207 million children aged 0-4 years in Africa. In total, the population aged 17 years and younger amounted to approximately 650 million. In contrast, only approximately 48 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 40 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 20 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 15.1 and 16.1 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.

In 2022, the average age of mothers in Luxembourg was 32.2 years, the highest among countries in Europe. The country with the youngest average age was Bulgaria, at 27.8 years.

This statistic shows the median age of the population in Brazil 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 Brazilian population was 32.7 years. Brazil as a developing nation The average age of the Brazil’s population has risen from a low of 16.8 years in 1965 to 32.4 years in 2020, a typical change in developing nations, and other demographic parameters support this trend: As of 2014, the share of children under 14 years of age stood at around 23.5 percent, a great improvement from earlier times. Since 2005, the fertility rate has also dropped significantly, but now it is even lower than the natural replacement rate at 1.78 children per woman. Over the same period of time, life expectancy has also risen to 74.4 years of age - higher than the average for developing nations. These changes typically happen as a result of developing countries becoming more modernized and economically diverse. Brazil’s economy had been getting significantly stronger and per capita GDP peaked in 2011 at a much higher value than the regional average for Latin America and the Caribbean. However, the Brazilian economy has reached a difficult point, and GDP per capita is expected to fall to as low as 7,447 U.S. dollars in 2016. As Brazil’s demographics are now similar to other developing countries, the economy has not been able to maintain a similar path to steady growth.

The median age in India was 27 years old in 2020, meaning half the population was older than that, half younger. This figure was lowest in 1970, at 18.1 years, and was projected to increase to 47.8 years old by 2100. Aging in India India has the second largest population in the world, after China. Because of the significant population growth of the past years, the age distribution remains skewed in favor of the younger age bracket. This tells a story of rapid population growth, but also of a lower life expectancy. Economic effects of a young population Many young people means that the Indian economy must support a large number of students, who demand education from the economy but cannot yet work. Educating the future workforce will be important, because the economy is growing as well and is one of the largest in the world. Failing to do this could lead to high youth unemployment and political consequences. However, a productive and young workforce could provide huge economic returns for India.

In 2024, the median age of the population in Algeria corresponded to 29.1 years. Thus, half of the population was older and half was younger than that age. In the same year, the median age for women in the country was estimated to be slightly higher than the men's by only 0.6 years.

The median age of the population in London was 35.9 years in 2023, the lowest median age among regions of the United Kingdom. By contrast, South West England had a median age of 43.9, the highest in the UK.