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.

Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) in World was reported at 24.73 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population ages 0-14 (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

The statistic shows the global population as of mid-2022, sorted by age. In mid-2022, approximately two thirds of the global population were aged between 15 and 64 years.

Until 2100, the world's population is expected to be ageing. Whereas people over 60 years made up less than 13 percent of the world's population in 2024, this share is estimated to reach 28.8 percent in 2100. On the other hand, the share of people between zero and 14 years was expected to decrease by almost ten percentage points over the same period.

The average for 2023 based on 196 countries was 26.11 percent. The highest value was in the Central African Republic: 49.17 percent and the lowest value was in Hong Kong: 10.7 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2024, just under 41 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population was below the age of 15; in contrast, this figure was just 17 percent in Europe & Central Asia and in North America. Across these regions, the share of the population aged 65 and over inversely correlated with the younger population, in that the regions with the largest share aged under 15 had the smallest share aged over 64, and vice versa. For most regions, the share of the population aged between 15 and 64 years ranged between 64 and 65 percent, except for Sub-Saharan Africa where it was below 56 percent. These trends can largely be explained by looking at global demographic development.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the United States population distribution across 18 age groups. It lists the population in each age group along with the percentage population relative of the total population for United States. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of United States by age. For example, using this dataset, we can identify the largest age group in United States.

Key observations

The largest age group in United States was for the group of age 25-29 years with a population of 22,854,328 (6.93%), according to the 2021 American Community Survey. At the same time, the smallest age group in United States was the 80-84 years with a population of 5,932,196 (1.80%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group in consideration
• Population: The population for the specific age group in the United States is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the population of each age group as a proportion of United States total population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for United States Population by Age. You can refer the same here

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Earth population by age cohorts (Children: Under 18 years; Working population: 18-64 years; Senior population: 65 years or more). It lists the population in each age cohort group along with its percentage relative to the total population of Earth. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution across children, working population and senior population for dependency ratio, housing requirements, ageing, migration patterns etc.

Key observations

The largest age group was 18 to 64 years with a poulation of 447 (47.71% of the total population). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age cohorts:

• Under 18 years
• 18 to 64 years
• 65 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age cohort for the Earth population analysis. Total expected values are 3 groups ( Children, Working Population and Senior Population).
• Population: The population for the age cohort in Earth is shown in the following column.
• Percent of Total Population: The population as a percent of total population of the Earth is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Earth Population by Age. You can refer the same here

The estimated population of the U.S. was approximately 334.9 million in 2023, and the largest age group was adults aged 30 to 34. There were 11.88 million males in this age category and around 11.64 million females. Which U.S. state has the largest population? The population of the United States continues to increase, and the country is the third most populous in the world behind China and India. The gender distribution has remained consistent for many years, with the number of females narrowly outnumbering males. In terms of where the residents are located, California was the state with the highest population in 2023. The U.S. population by race and ethnicity The United States is well known the world over for having a diverse population. In 2023, the number of Black or African American individuals was estimated to be 45.76 million, which represented an increase of over four million since the 2010 census. The number of Asian residents has increased at a similar rate during the same time period and the Hispanic population in the U.S. has also continued to grow.

Population, female (% of total population) in World was reported at 49.72 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Projections of the Population (against the 1990 Census), By Age 0-4 years old at individual State level: 1995 to 2025. Data provided by Census although I added calculations for percent change. (Numbers in thousands. Resident population. Series A projections. For more details, see Population Paper Listings #47, "Population Projections for States, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1995 to 2025.")

In 2023, there were around 211 million children aged 0-4 years in Africa. In total, the population aged 17 years and younger amounted to approximately 680 million. In contrast, only approximately 52 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 2024, around 40 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 populations 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 Tunisia and Algeria leading the ranking in 2025.

In the middle of 2023, about 60 percent of the global population was living in Asia.The total world population amounted to 8.1 billion people on the planet. In other words 4.7 billion people were living in Asia as of 2023. Global populationDue to medical advances, better living conditions and the increase of agricultural productivity, the world population increased rapidly over the past century, and is expected to continue to grow. After reaching eight billion in 2023, the global population is estimated to pass 10 billion by 2060. Africa expected to drive population increase Most of the future population increase is expected to happen in Africa. The countries with the highest population growth rate in 2024 were mostly African countries. While around 1.47 billion people live on the continent as of 2024, this is forecast to grow to 3.9 billion by 2100. This is underlined by the fact that most of the countries wit the highest population growth rate are found in Africa. The growing population, in combination with climate change, puts increasing pressure on the world's resources.

This statistic depicts the age distribution in the United States from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, about 17.32 percent of the U.S. population fell into the 0-14 year category, 64.75 percent into the 15-64 age group and 17.93 percent of the population were over 65 years of age. The increasing population of the United States The United States of America is one of the most populated countries in the world, trailing just behind China and India. A total population count of around 320 million inhabitants and a more-or-less steady population growth over the past decade indicate that the country has steadily improved its living conditions and standards for the population. Leading healthier lifestyles and improved living conditions have resulted in a steady increase of the life expectancy at birth in the United States. Life expectancies of men and women at birth in the United States were at a record high in 2012. Furthermore, a constant fertility rate in recent years and a decrease in the death rate and infant mortality, all due to the improved standard of living and health care conditions, have helped not only the American population to increase but as a result, the share of the population younger than 15 and older than 65 years has also increased in recent years, as can be seen above.

Guatemala GT: Women Who were First Married by Age 18: % of Women Aged 20-24 data was reported at 29.500 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 30.300 % for 2009. Guatemala GT: Women Who were First Married by Age 18: % of Women Aged 20-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 34.650 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 41.200 % in 1987 and a record low of 29.500 % in 2015. Guatemala GT: Women Who were First Married by Age 18: % of Women Aged 20-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Guatemala – Table GT.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Women who were first married by age 18 refers to the percentage of women ages 20-24 who were first married by age 18.; ; Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), AIDS Indicator Surveys(AIS), Reproductive Health Survey(RHS), and other household surveys.; ;

Children and adolescents under 18 years of age in percent of the population under 18 years of age 2006 at the level of the world-oriented spaces (LOR), presentation of the planning rooms

Albania Women Who were First Married by Age 18: % of Women Aged 20-24 data was reported at 11.800 % in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 9.600 % for 2009. Albania Women Who were First Married by Age 18: % of Women Aged 20-24 data is updated yearly, averaging 10.700 % from Dec 2009 (Median) to 2018, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.800 % in 2018 and a record low of 9.600 % in 2009. Albania Women Who were First Married by Age 18: % of Women Aged 20-24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Albania – Table AL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Women who were first married by age 18 refers to the percentage of women ages 20-24 who were first married by age 18.;UNICEF Data; Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), AIDS Indicator Surveys(AIS), Reproductive Health Survey(RHS), and other household surveys.;;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 5.3.1[https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

These data were produced by the WorldPop Research Group at the University of Southampton. This work was part of the GRID3 project with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (INV-009579, formerly OPP1182425), and GRID3 COVID-19 Support Scale-up (INV-018067). Project partners included the United Nations Population Fund, Center for International Earth Science Information Network in the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University, and the Flowminder Foundation. The new age-structured population estimates are based on the existing Census-based gridded population estimates for Burkina Faso (2019), version 1.0 (WorldPop and Institut National de la Statistique et de la Demographie du Burkina Faso, 2020). Duygu Cihan, Heather Chamberlain and Thomas Abbott led the data processing, with advice from Édith Darin.RELEASE CONTENT Aggregated_BFA_under18_population_100m.tif Aggregated_BFA_18_45_population_100m.tif Aggregated_BFA_over45_population_100m.tifFILE DESCRIPTIONS The coordinate system for all GIS files is the geographic coordinate system WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984, EPSG: 4326). Aggregated_BFA_ under18_population _100m.tifThis geotiff raster, at a spatial resolution of 3 arc-seconds (approximately 100m at the equator), contains estimates of the total population of persons aged under 18 (0-17) per grid cell across Burkina Faso. NA values represent areas that were mapped as unsettled based on gridded building patterns derived from building footprints (Dooley and Tatem, 2020). These data are stored as floating-point numbers rather than integers to avoid rounding errors in aggregated population totals for larger areas.Aggregated_BFA_18_45_population_100m.tif This geotiff raster, at a spatial resolution of 3 arc-seconds (approximately 100m at the equator), contains estimates of the total population of persons aged 18 to 45 (18-45) per grid cell across Burkina Faso. NA values represent areas that were mapped as unsettled based on gridded building patterns derived from building footprints (Dooley and Tatem, 2020). These data are stored as floating-point numbers rather than integers to avoid rounding errors in aggregated population totals for larger areas. Aggregated_BFA_over45_population_100m.tif This geotiff raster, at a spatial resolution of 3 arc-seconds (approximately 100m at the equator), contains estimates of the total population of persons aged over 45 (46+) per grid cell across Burkina Faso. NA values represent areas that were mapped as unsettled based on gridded building patterns derived from building footprints (Dooley and Tatem, 2020). These data are stored as floating-point numbers rather than integers to avoid rounding errors in aggregated population totals for larger areas.METHODS OVERVIEW Processing: The existing 2019 gridded population estimates (WorldPop and Institut National de la Statistique et de la Demographie du Burkina Faso, 2020) include age- and sex- structured population estimates for 5 year age classes, based on the age and sex breakdown of population totals at the national level, from the preliminary census results. A Sprague multiplier approach was used to further disaggregate the 5-year age classes at the national level, to create three custom age-classes (under 18, 18-45 and over 45). The population for each of these custom age classes, was calculated as the proportion of the total population at the national level. This proportion was applied to the count of total population at the grid cell level.ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS The custom age classes are estimated using a Sprague multiplier approach to interpolate the 5-year age classes and provide the population for a single year age class, which is then summed to provide the custom age classes. Interpolation introduces uncertainty in the estimates.The population estimates for the custom age classes were calculated from national level totals for 5-year age classes. A constant age-structure across all grid cells was assumed in applying the national proportions for the custom age classes to the grid cell level.RELEASE HISTORYVersion 1.0 (25/05/2022) - Original release of this data set.WORKS CITEDDooley, C. A. and Tatem, A.J. 2020. Gridded maps of building patterns throughout sub-Saharan Africa, version 1.0. University of Southampton: Southampton, UK. Source of building Footprints “Ecopia Vector Maps Powered by Maxar Satellite Imagery”© 2020. https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00666.WorldPop and Institut National de la Statistique et de la Demographie du Burkina Faso. 2020. Census-based gridded population estimates for Burkina Faso (2019), version 1.0. WorldPop, University of Southampton. https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00687

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00646

Share of six specific age groups in the total population on 1 January.

This data originally comes from the US Census, and is illustrated by margin of error, percent, and rank of households with the most people under 18.