How many people in the world are 98 years old?

Roughly 860,000, under 0.1% of the world. The UN publishes five-year groups, so this is a share of the 95 to 99 group, not a direct count.

What percentage of the world is under 98?

over 99% of the world's people are younger than 98, and under 1% are older. The median age of the world is 30.6 (UN, 2024): half of all living people are younger than that.

What is the median age of the world?

30.6 years in 2024, by the UN's World Population Prospects. It ranges from 14.4 in the Central African Republic to 49.4 in Japan. No country has a median age this high. The oldest is Japan, at 49.4; the world's median is 30.6, so 98 is 67 years above it.

How many people are older than 98?

About 1 million people are older than 98, under 1% of the world. 8.1 billion, over 99%, are younger, and roughly 860,000 are 98 right now. The world's median age is 30.6, so 98 is in the older half.

Percentile

>99%

of the world's people are younger than 98

Age 98 = born around 1925

Older persons, 65 and overUN age bands: children 0 to 14, youth 15 to 24, working age 25 to 64, older persons 65 and over. Labels for statisticians, not verdicts.

Age 98 by group

Around 98

Completed years of age, UN estimates for 2023, interpolated within five-year groups
Group	People	Share of world
Younger than you (0 to 97)	8.1 billion	>99%
Your age (98)	860,000	<1%
Older than you (99 and up)	1 million	<1%

The world by age

UN population estimates for 2023, 8.1 billion people in all
Age	People	Share	Younger than this band
0 to 9	1.3 billion	17%	<1%
10 to 19	1.3 billion	16%	17%
20 to 29	1.2 billion	15%	33%
30 to 39	1.2 billion	15%	48%
40 to 49	998 million	12%	63%
50 to 59	875 million	11%	75%
60 to 69	626 million	8%	86%
70 to 79	360 million	4%	94%
80 to 89	137 million	2%	98%
90 and over	23 million	<1%	>99%

Percentile is the share of the world's people younger than this age. “1 in X” counts the rarer side: people at or beyond this value above the median, at or under it below. Counts come from the UN's five-year age groups, spread evenly inside each group. No normal curve; the age test uses one, so its number differs by a few points.

What this means

World life expectancy at birth is 73.2 years (70.5 for men, 75.9 for women, UN). 98 is past it, which is not a deadline: someone who has reached 98 has already survived the risks a newborn still faces, and in rich countries can expect several more years.
No country has a median age this high. The oldest is Japan, at 49.4; the world's median is 30.6, so 98 is 67 years above it.
About 860,000 people are 98 right now. Standing in a line half a metre apart they would stretch 430 km.
The counts come from the UN's five-year age groups for 2023, spread evenly inside each group. Our age test uses a normal curve with mean 30 and SD 18 instead, so its percentile differs from this one by a few points.

Questions

How many people are older than 98?: About 1 million people are older than 98, which is under 1% of the world's 8.1 billion. 8.1 billion are younger. Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024, 2023 estimates by five-year age group.
How many people in the world are 98 years old?: Roughly 860,000, under 0.1% of the world. The UN publishes five-year groups, so this is a share of the 95 to 99 group, not a direct count.
What percentage of the world is under 98?: over 99% of the world's people are younger than 98, and under 1% are older. The median age of the world is 30.6 (UN, 2024): half of all living people are younger than that.
What is the median age of the world?: 30.6 years in 2024, by the UN's World Population Prospects. It ranges from 14.4 in the Central African Republic to 49.4 in Japan. No country has a median age this high. The oldest is Japan, at 49.4; the world's median is 30.6, so 98 is 67 years above it.

Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024, population by five-year age group, 2023 estimates, via Our World in Data (fetched 2026-10-28). Life expectancy: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024, estimates for 2023. Median ages: UN WPP 2024, for 2024. Counts come from the UN's five-year age groups, spread evenly inside each group. No normal curve; the age test uses one, so its number differs by a few points.

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