Median Age by Country 2026

Median Age by Country 2026

UN World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant)

The median age divides a population into two equal halves, one younger and one older; it is the clearest single number for how old or young a country is.

  • 201 countries and areas ranked
  • Highest: Monaco
  • Lowest: Central African Republic

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Rank Country Median ageRegion0-14 %15-64 %65+ %Pyramid shape
1 Monaco 54.1 EUROPE 14.1% 50.0% 35.9% Constrictive
2 Japan 51.1 ASIA 11.0% 58.8% 30.2% Constrictive
3 Martinique 51.0 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 14.5% 58.1% 27.4% Constrictive
4 Italy 49.6 EUROPE 11.4% 63.0% 25.6% Constrictive
5 China, Hong Kong SAR 49.0 ASIA 10.0% 65.3% 24.7% Constrictive
6 Guadeloupe 48.4 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 15.9% 58.6% 25.5% Constrictive
7 Portugal 48.1 EUROPE 12.6% 62.0% 25.4% Constrictive
8 Greece 48.1 EUROPE 12.6% 62.7% 24.7% Constrictive
9 Republic of Korea 47.3 ASIA 9.8% 68.7% 21.4% Constrictive
10 Puerto Rico 47.2 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 10.9% 63.3% 25.8% Constrictive
11 Spain 47.2 EUROPE 12.3% 65.5% 22.2% Constrictive
12 Bosnia and Herzegovina 47.1 EUROPE 12.7% 63.8% 23.5% Constrictive
13 Germany 46.8 EUROPE 13.9% 61.9% 24.2% Constrictive
14 Croatia 46.5 EUROPE 13.5% 62.5% 24.0% Constrictive
15 Taiwan 46.4 ASIA 11.3% 67.8% 20.9% Constrictive
16 Bulgaria 46.0 EUROPE 14.3% 63.2% 22.5% Constrictive
17 Slovenia 46.0 EUROPE 14.2% 63.1% 22.7% Constrictive
18 United States Virgin Islands 45.9 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 16.4% 60.0% 23.6% Constrictive
19 Serbia 45.6 EUROPE 14.2% 62.4% 23.4% Constrictive
20 Czech Republic 45.2 EUROPE 14.8% 63.7% 21.4% Constrictive
21 Hungary 45.1 EUROPE 14.3% 64.4% 21.3% Constrictive
22 Austria 44.9 EUROPE 14.1% 64.3% 21.6% Constrictive
23 Latvia 44.9 EUROPE 15.0% 62.4% 22.7% Constrictive
24 Romania 44.4 EUROPE 15.4% 64.3% 20.2% Constrictive
25 Finland 44.4 EUROPE 14.0% 61.4% 24.5% Constrictive
26 Estonia 44.2 EUROPE 14.9% 62.8% 22.3% Constrictive
27 Switzerland 44.2 EUROPE 14.8% 64.3% 20.9% Constrictive
28 Poland 44.0 EUROPE 14.1% 64.6% 21.3% Constrictive
29 Slovakia 43.8 EUROPE 15.4% 65.1% 19.5% Constrictive
30 Lithuania 43.7 EUROPE 14.3% 64.4% 21.3% Constrictive
31 Cuba 43.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 14.7% 67.7% 17.6% Constrictive
32 France 43.4 EUROPE 16.0% 61.1% 22.9% Constrictive
33 Belgium 43.1 EUROPE 15.4% 63.2% 21.4% Constrictive
34 Ukraine 42.9 EUROPE 13.4% 67.5% 19.1% Constrictive
35 Belarus 42.8 EUROPE 15.5% 65.7% 18.9% Constrictive
36 Aruba 42.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 16.2% 65.3% 18.5% Constrictive
37 Netherlands 42.6 EUROPE 14.9% 63.9% 21.3% Constrictive
38 Malta 42.5 EUROPE 12.8% 66.3% 20.9% Constrictive
39 Denmark 42.4 EUROPE 15.5% 63.1% 21.4% Constrictive
40 TFYR Macedonia 42.4 EUROPE 16.2% 64.8% 19.0% Constrictive
41 Canada 41.9 NORTHERN AMERICA 14.9% 64.4% 20.7% Constrictive
42 Thailand 41.9 ASIA 14.1% 69.2% 16.7% Constrictive
43 Russian Federation 41.8 EUROPE 16.7% 64.9% 18.4% Constrictive
44 China 41.7 ASIA 14.8% 70.1% 15.1% Constrictive
45 Sweden 41.5 EUROPE 16.4% 62.5% 21.1% Constrictive
46 Montenegro 41.4 EUROPE 17.7% 63.6% 18.8% Constrictive
47 China, Macao SAR 41.4 ASIA 13.4% 70.6% 15.9% Constrictive
48 United Kingdom 41.2 EUROPE 16.7% 63.3% 19.9% Constrictive
49 Norway 41.1 EUROPE 15.7% 64.9% 19.4% Constrictive
50 Luxembourg 40.8 EUROPE 15.7% 68.1% 16.2% Constrictive
51 Barbados 40.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 16.9% 65.4% 17.6% Constrictive
52 Ireland 40.2 EUROPE 17.6% 65.8% 16.5% Stationary
53 Cyprus 40.1 ASIA 16.0% 68.7% 15.3% Stationary
54 Republic of Moldova 40.1 EUROPE 19.2% 63.3% 17.4% Expansive
55 Curaçao 40.0 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 14.2% 67.9% 17.8% Constrictive
56 United States of America 39.7 NORTHERN AMERICA 16.9% 64.3% 18.8% Constrictive
57 Australia 39.5 OCEANIA 17.5% 64.0% 18.5% Constrictive
58 Réunion 39.4 AFRICA 20.2% 63.0% 16.9% Stationary
59 Mauritius 39.3 AFRICA 14.3% 71.0% 14.7% Constrictive
60 Trinidad and Tobago 39.2 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.2% 69.3% 13.5% Stationary
61 New Zealand 39.0 OCEANIA 17.6% 64.3% 18.0% Constrictive
62 Albania 38.9 EUROPE 16.3% 65.3% 18.3% Constrictive
63 Georgia 38.6 ASIA 20.2% 63.5% 16.4% Stationary
64 Chile 38.5 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 16.1% 68.8% 15.1% Constrictive
65 Armenia 38.2 ASIA 18.7% 66.1% 15.2% Stationary
66 Singapore 37.9 ASIA 11.7% 73.5% 14.8% Constrictive
67 Dem. People's Republic of Korea 37.8 ASIA 18.9% 68.1% 13.0% Stationary
68 Uruguay 37.8 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.5% 66.0% 16.5% Constrictive
69 Iceland 37.7 EUROPE 17.3% 66.4% 16.3% Stationary
70 Antigua and Barbuda 37.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.2% 69.9% 12.9% Constrictive
71 French Polynesia 37.6 OCEANIA 17.8% 69.6% 12.6% Constrictive
72 Bahamas 36.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.2% 70.3% 12.4% Constrictive
73 Costa Rica 36.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.8% 68.9% 13.3% Constrictive
74 Brazil 36.2 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 19.1% 69.0% 11.9% Stationary
75 Saint Lucia 36.1 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.1% 72.6% 10.3% Constrictive
76 Grenada 35.9 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 18.6% 68.4% 13.0% Stationary
77 New Caledonia 35.8 OCEANIA 20.9% 67.0% 12.1% Stationary
78 Kuwait 35.8 ASIA 17.8% 79.0% 3.3% Stationary
79 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 35.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 20.4% 66.9% 12.6% Stationary
80 Seychelles 35.6 AFRICA 19.6% 71.4% 9.0% Stationary
81 Iran 35.5 ASIA 21.6% 69.5% 8.9% Stationary
82 Azerbaijan 35.1 ASIA 20.6% 69.6% 9.8% Stationary
83 Viet Nam 34.9 ASIA 22.4% 67.7% 9.9% Stationary
84 Turkey 34.9 ASIA 20.6% 68.5% 10.9% Stationary
85 Sri Lanka 34.6 ASIA 21.4% 65.8% 12.8% Stationary
86 Bahrain 34.4 ASIA 18.2% 77.7% 4.2% Constrictive
87 Qatar 34.4 ASIA 15.0% 83.3% 1.7% Constrictive
88 Maldives 34.4 ASIA 18.4% 76.3% 5.3% Stationary
89 Argentina 34.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 20.4% 66.7% 12.9% Stationary
90 Tunisia 34.3 AFRICA 23.0% 66.6% 10.3% Stationary
91 Jamaica 34.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.9% 73.1% 9.0% Constrictive
92 Brunei Darussalam 34.2 ASIA 20.4% 72.0% 7.6% Stationary
93 Colombia 34.0 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 19.7% 69.6% 10.6% Constrictive
94 Western Sahara 33.8 AFRICA 22.7% 70.3% 7.0% Stationary
95 Guam 32.7 OCEANIA 25.7% 60.7% 13.6% Expansive
96 United Arab Emirates 32.6 ASIA 15.9% 82.3% 1.8% Constrictive
97 Malaysia 32.4 ASIA 20.8% 70.8% 8.3% Constrictive
98 Bhutan 31.9 ASIA 19.8% 73.4% 6.8% Constrictive
99 Indonesia 31.7 ASIA 23.9% 68.3% 7.8% Stationary
100 Panama 31.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.1% 65.9% 10.0% Stationary
101 Peru 31.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 23.3% 67.0% 9.7% Stationary
102 Myanmar 31.4 ASIA 23.9% 68.4% 7.7% Stationary
103 Morocco 31.1 AFRICA 24.8% 66.5% 8.8% Stationary
104 Mexico 31.0 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 23.7% 67.5% 8.8% Stationary
105 Oman 30.8 ASIA 24.0% 73.2% 2.7% Stationary
106 Kazakhstan 30.7 ASIA 28.9% 61.8% 9.3% Expansive
107 Ecuador 30.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 23.3% 67.8% 8.9% Stationary
108 Saudi Arabia 30.6 ASIA 23.4% 73.4% 3.2% Stationary
109 Venezuela 30.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.3% 65.3% 10.4% Stationary
110 Cabo Verde 30.5 AFRICA 23.8% 68.7% 7.5% Stationary
111 Israel 30.3 ASIA 26.9% 60.3% 12.8% Expansive
112 India 30.2 ASIA 23.8% 68.6% 7.6% Stationary
113 Lebanon 30.0 ASIA 25.0% 64.3% 10.7% Stationary
114 South Africa 29.9 AFRICA 25.6% 67.3% 7.1% Stationary
115 Suriname 29.9 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 25.0% 66.4% 8.5% Stationary
116 Algeria 29.8 AFRICA 29.4% 63.5% 7.0% Expansive
117 Dominican Republic 29.7 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 25.8% 65.7% 8.5% Stationary
118 El Salvador 29.4 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.0% 67.6% 8.5% Stationary
119 Fiji 29.3 OCEANIA 26.6% 66.6% 6.8% Stationary
120 Libya 29.1 AFRICA 26.2% 68.4% 5.4% Stationary
121 Belize 28.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 26.0% 68.5% 5.4% Stationary
122 Paraguay 28.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 28.1% 64.9% 6.9% Stationary
123 Turkmenistan 28.1 ASIA 30.8% 64.1% 5.1% Expansive
124 Mongolia 27.9 ASIA 30.9% 63.4% 5.7% Expansive
125 Uzbekistan 27.9 ASIA 31.5% 62.3% 6.3% Expansive
126 Philippines 27.6 ASIA 26.4% 67.6% 6.0% Stationary
127 Guyana 27.5 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 28.7% 64.1% 7.2% Stationary
128 Cambodia 27.4 ASIA 29.2% 64.2% 6.6% Expansive
129 Bangladesh 27.3 ASIA 27.3% 65.8% 6.8% Stationary
130 Nicaragua 27.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 27.9% 66.3% 5.9% Stationary
131 Nepal 26.7 ASIA 27.7% 65.6% 6.7% Stationary
132 Kyrgyzstan 26.5 ASIA 31.4% 62.3% 6.3% Expansive
133 Bolivia 26.5 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 29.1% 65.1% 5.8% Stationary
134 Djibouti 26.3 AFRICA 28.5% 66.4% 5.1% Stationary
135 Laos 26.3 ASIA 29.5% 65.6% 5.0% Stationary
136 French Guiana 26.0 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 30.8% 61.7% 7.5% Expansive
137 Jordan 25.9 ASIA 29.6% 65.4% 5.0% Stationary
138 Egypt 25.7 AFRICA 31.1% 63.5% 5.4% Expansive
139 Honduras 25.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 29.9% 65.4% 4.7% Stationary
140 Haiti 25.4 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 30.4% 64.7% 4.9% Expansive
141 Guatemala 24.8 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 30.5% 64.4% 5.1% Expansive
142 Syrian Arab Republic 24.8 ASIA 27.9% 67.1% 5.0% Constrictive
143 Botswana 24.7 AFRICA 31.8% 64.1% 4.1% Expansive
144 Micronesia (Fed. States of) 24.5 OCEANIA 31.2% 62.5% 6.4% Expansive
145 Papua New Guinea 24.0 OCEANIA 32.8% 63.5% 3.7% Expansive
146 Kiribati 24.0 OCEANIA 34.0% 61.5% 4.5% Expansive
147 Swaziland 23.7 AFRICA 32.6% 63.0% 4.4% Expansive
148 Tajikistan 23.3 ASIA 35.4% 60.3% 4.3% Expansive
149 Timor-Leste 23.2 ASIA 32.6% 62.2% 5.2% Expansive
150 Lesotho 23.1 AFRICA 33.6% 62.5% 3.9% Expansive
151 Gabon 22.6 AFRICA 35.9% 59.9% 4.2% Expansive
152 Namibia 22.6 AFRICA 36.3% 59.8% 3.9% Expansive
153 Ghana 22.6 AFRICA 35.0% 61.1% 3.9% Expansive
154 Iraq 22.2 ASIA 35.4% 61.1% 3.5% Expansive
155 Tonga 22.1 OCEANIA 34.4% 58.7% 7.0% Expansive
156 Solomon Islands 22.0 OCEANIA 36.1% 60.2% 3.7% Expansive
157 Equatorial Guinea 22.0 AFRICA 36.9% 59.3% 3.9% Expansive
158 Comoros 21.8 AFRICA 36.6% 59.0% 4.4% Expansive
159 Pakistan 21.8 ASIA 35.8% 59.8% 4.4% Expansive
160 Kenya 21.4 AFRICA 35.7% 61.2% 3.1% Expansive
161 Vanuatu 21.4 OCEANIA 37.6% 58.0% 4.5% Expansive
162 State of Palestine 21.3 ASIA 37.0% 59.0% 3.9% Expansive
163 Rwanda 21.3 AFRICA 36.7% 59.2% 4.1% Expansive
164 Sierra Leone 21.0 AFRICA 37.2% 59.5% 3.3% Expansive
165 Samoa 21.0 OCEANIA 37.5% 56.2% 6.2% Expansive
166 Senegal 20.9 AFRICA 37.3% 59.0% 3.7% Expansive
167 Sao Tome and Principe 20.8 AFRICA 37.2% 58.8% 4.0% Expansive
168 Eritrea 20.6 AFRICA 37.1% 58.6% 4.3% Expansive
169 Guinea-Bissau 20.6 AFRICA 37.8% 58.9% 3.3% Expansive
170 Madagascar 20.4 AFRICA 38.6% 57.8% 3.5% Expansive
171 Ethiopia 20.4 AFRICA 38.5% 58.1% 3.4% Expansive
172 Togo 20.2 AFRICA 38.8% 57.9% 3.3% Expansive
173 South Sudan 20.0 AFRICA 37.1% 59.8% 3.2% Expansive
174 Liberia 20.0 AFRICA 38.6% 58.0% 3.4% Expansive
175 Sudan 19.8 AFRICA 39.8% 56.7% 3.5% Expansive
176 Congo 19.8 AFRICA 39.4% 57.5% 3.1% Expansive
177 Gambia 19.8 AFRICA 39.2% 57.5% 3.3% Expansive
178 Côte d'Ivoire 19.5 AFRICA 40.0% 57.3% 2.7% Expansive
179 Yemen 19.5 ASIA 40.9% 56.5% 2.6% Expansive
180 Guinea 19.5 AFRICA 40.2% 56.3% 3.5% Expansive
181 Zimbabwe 19.4 AFRICA 39.6% 56.8% 3.5% Expansive
182 Malawi 19.4 AFRICA 39.6% 57.8% 2.6% Expansive
183 Nigeria 19.4 AFRICA 40.0% 56.9% 3.1% Expansive
184 Cameroon 19.3 AFRICA 40.8% 56.4% 2.8% Expansive
185 Zambia 19.2 AFRICA 40.5% 57.4% 2.1% Expansive
186 Benin 19.2 AFRICA 40.9% 55.9% 3.2% Expansive
187 Burkina Faso 19.1 AFRICA 40.5% 56.8% 2.7% Expansive
188 Tanzania 18.7 AFRICA 42.1% 54.8% 3.0% Expansive
189 Mauritania 18.6 AFRICA 42.0% 54.7% 3.3% Expansive
190 Afghanistan 18.5 ASIA 42.2% 55.3% 2.5% Expansive
191 Mayotte 18.4 AFRICA 42.1% 55.0% 2.9% Expansive
192 Uganda 18.2 AFRICA 42.7% 55.1% 2.3% Expansive
193 Angola 17.9 AFRICA 43.8% 53.2% 2.9% Expansive
194 Burundi 17.8 AFRICA 43.2% 54.2% 2.6% Expansive
195 Mozambique 17.8 AFRICA 43.9% 53.4% 2.7% Expansive
196 D.R. Congo 17.0 AFRICA 45.8% 51.1% 3.1% Expansive
197 Mali 17.0 AFRICA 45.4% 52.2% 2.3% Expansive
198 Chad 16.9 AFRICA 46.0% 51.9% 2.1% Expansive
199 Niger 16.8 AFRICA 45.8% 51.5% 2.6% Expansive
200 Somalia 16.7 AFRICA 46.5% 50.8% 2.6% Expansive
201 Central African Republic 15.7 AFRICA 48.2% 49.5% 2.2% Expansive

The oldest and youngest populations

Monaco tops this ranking with a median age of 54.1 years, followed closely by Japan at 51.1 — the two countries most often cited as bellwethers for population ageing, for different reasons: Monaco because of its wealthy, long-lived resident population and heavy weighting toward retirees, Japan because of five decades of sustained low fertility working through an otherwise large population. Martinique, Italy and Hong Kong round out the top five, all past 49. At the other extreme, Central African Republic has the world's youngest population at a median age of 15.7 — meaning half its population hasn't reached secondary-school age — with Somalia, Niger, Chad and Mali close behind, all under 17. Sixty-one of the 201 countries in this table have a median age under 25.

A continental divide

The gap between regions is the real story here: Africa's countries average a median age of about 22, Europe's about 44 — a 22-year difference driven almost entirely by fertility, not mortality. A country's median age is a close-to-permanent feature of its population for a generation or more, since the adults of 2050 are already born; a country with today's median age of 17 cannot reach Japan's median age within a single generation even under the most aggressive fertility decline. This is why the countries at the young end of this table are also, unsurprisingly, the fastest-growing countries (see the fastest-growing countries ranking) — a broad base of children guarantees decades of further population growth even if fertility starts falling today.

Reading the pyramid-shape column

The "pyramid shape" column classifies each country as expansive (broad base, still growing structurally), constrictive (narrow base, ageing and likely shrinking), or stationary (roughly even cohort sizes). It's a compact summary of the same underlying age structure that determines the median age, dependency ratios and growth rate — see our explainer for what each shape looks like and what it means for a country's future.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries does this ranking cover?

This table covers 201 countries and territories, ranked using United Nations World Population Prospects data.

Which country has the oldest population?

Monaco has the oldest population, with a median age of 54.1 years in 2026.

Which country has the youngest population?

Central African Republic has the youngest population, with a median age of 15.7 years in 2026.

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