Which country has the youngest population?

Central African Republic, with a median age of 14.4: half the population is younger than that. Niger (15.4) and Somalia (15.5) are next. All ten youngest countries are in Africa. A young median means many births relative to the number of adults: the population is growing from the bottom.

Which country has the oldest population?

Japan, with a median age of 49.4, followed by Italy (47.8) and Hong Kong (46.8). These countries combine long lives with decades of low birth rates, so each new generation is smaller than the one before it.

What does median age mean?

The age that splits a population in half: as many people are older as younger. It is not the average age, which the oldest people pull upward. The median is what demographers quote because it is not skewed by a few centenarians or by how many babies were born last year. The world median is 30.6; 90 of the 193 countries here are older than that.

Median age by country

Half the world is older than 30.6 and half is younger (2024). Among the 193 countries here, the median runs from 14.4 years in Central African Republic to 49.4 in Japan, 35.0 years apart. All ten youngest countries are in Africa; 6 of the ten oldest are in Europe.

Both ends

Five youngest
#	Country	Median
1	Central African Republic	14.4
2	Niger	15.4
3	Somalia	15.5
4	Mali	15.6
5	Chad	15.7

Five oldest
#	Country	Median
193	Japan	49.4
192	Italy	47.8
191	Hong Kong	46.8
190	Portugal	46.6
189	Greece	46.3

193 countries, youngest to oldest

#	Country	Median age	vs world	Region
1	Central African Republic	14.4	-16.2	Africa
2	Niger	15.4	-15.2	Africa
3	Somalia	15.5	-15.1	Africa
4	Mali	15.6	-15.0	Africa
5	Chad	15.7	-14.9	Africa
6	DR Congo	15.8	-14.8	Africa
7	Burundi	16.1	-14.5	Africa
8	Mozambique	16.4	-14.2	Africa
9	Angola	16.5	-14.1	Africa
10	Uganda	16.7	-13.9	Africa
11	Afghanistan	17.1	-13.5	Asia
12	Mauritania	17.3	-13.3	Africa
13	Tanzania	17.4	-13.2	Africa
14	Burkina Faso	17.5	-13.1	Africa
15	Zambia	17.7	-12.9	Africa
16	Malawi	17.8	-12.8	Africa
17	Benin	17.9	-12.7	Africa
18	Cameroon	17.9	-12.7	Africa
19	Nigeria	17.9	-12.7	Africa
20	Zimbabwe	18.0	-12.6	Africa
21	Guinea	18.1	-12.5	Africa
22	Côte d'Ivoire	18.2	-12.4	Africa
23	Togo	18.2	-12.4	Africa
24	South Sudan	18.3	-12.3	Africa
25	Yemen	18.3	-12.3	Asia
26	Republic of the Congo	18.4	-12.2	Africa
27	Gambia	18.4	-12.2	Africa
28	Sudan	18.4	-12.2	Africa
29	Liberia	18.6	-12.0	Africa
30	Eritrea	18.9	-11.7	Africa
31	Ethiopia	18.9	-11.7	Africa
32	Madagascar	19.0	-11.6	Africa
33	Guinea-Bissau	19.2	-11.4	Africa
34	Sao Tome and Principe	19.3	-11.3	Africa
35	Senegal	19.4	-11.2	Africa
36	Sierra Leone	19.5	-11.1	Africa
37	Rwanda	19.7	-10.9	Africa
38	Kenya	19.8	-10.8	Africa
39	Samoa	19.8	-10.8	Oceania
40	Palestine	19.9	-10.7	Asia
41	Vanuatu	20.2	-10.4	Oceania
42	Pakistan	20.4	-10.2	Asia
43	Comoros	20.5	-10.1	Africa
44	Solomon Islands	20.5	-10.1	Oceania
45	Iraq	20.6	-10.0	Asia
46	Tonga	20.7	-9.9	Oceania
47	Equatorial Guinea	20.9	-9.7	Africa
48	Ghana	21.1	-9.5	Africa
49	Namibia	21.1	-9.5	Africa
50	Timor-Leste	21.3	-9.3	Asia
51	Gabon	21.5	-9.1	Africa
52	Lesotho	21.6	-9.0	Africa
53	Tajikistan	22.1	-8.5	Asia
54	Eswatini	22.2	-8.4	Africa
55	Papua New Guinea	22.6	-8.0	Oceania
56	Kiribati	22.8	-7.8	Oceania
57	Syria	22.8	-7.8	Asia
58	Guatemala	23.0	-7.6	Americas
59	Micronesia	23.1	-7.5	Oceania
60	Botswana	23.2	-7.4	Africa
61	Haiti	23.8	-6.8	Americas
62	Honduras	23.9	-6.7	Americas
63	Egypt	24.3	-6.3	Africa
64	Jordan	24.5	-6.1	Asia
65	Laos	24.6	-6.0	Asia
66	Djibouti	24.7	-5.9	Africa
67	Bolivia	24.9	-5.7	Americas
68	Nepal	25.0	-5.6	Asia
69	Kyrgyzstan	25.3	-5.3	Asia
70	Nicaragua	25.6	-5.0	Americas
71	Bangladesh	25.7	-4.9	Asia
72	Philippines	25.7	-4.9	Asia
73	Guyana	25.9	-4.7	Americas
74	Cambodia	26.0	-4.6	Asia
75	Belize	26.4	-4.2	Americas
76	Paraguay	26.6	-4.0	Americas
77	Turkmenistan	26.6	-4.0	Asia
78	Mongolia	26.9	-3.7	Asia
79	Uzbekistan	27.0	-3.6	Asia
80	El Salvador	27.4	-3.2	Americas
81	Libya	27.5	-3.1	Africa
82	Fiji	27.9	-2.7	Oceania
83	Dominican Republic	28.0	-2.6	Americas
84	Algeria	28.4	-2.2	Africa
85	Cabo Verde	28.4	-2.2	Africa
86	India	28.4	-2.2	Asia
87	Suriname	28.4	-2.2	Americas
88	South Africa	28.5	-2.1	Africa
89	Lebanon	28.6	-2.0	Asia
90	Ecuador	28.8	-1.8	Americas
91	Israel	29.2	-1.4	Asia
92	Venezuela	29.2	-1.4	Americas
93	Mexico	29.3	-1.3	Americas
94	Morocco	29.5	-1.1	Africa
95	Oman	29.5	-1.1	Asia
96	Kazakhstan	29.6	-1.0	Asia
97	Saudi Arabia	29.6	-1.0	Asia
98	Myanmar	29.8	-0.8	Asia
99	Peru	29.8	-0.8	Americas
100	Bhutan	29.9	-0.7	Asia
101	Panama	29.9	-0.7	Americas
102	Indonesia	30.1	-0.5	Asia
103	Malaysia	30.5	-0.1	Asia
104	Guam	31.3	+0.7	Oceania
105	United Arab Emirates	31.6	+1.0	Asia
106	Maldives	31.9	+1.3	Asia
107	Colombia	32.0	+1.4	Americas
108	Kosovo	32.0	+1.4	Europe
109	Brunei	32.2	+1.6	Asia
110	Jamaica	32.2	+1.6	Americas
111	Argentina	32.5	+1.9	Americas
112	Tunisia	32.5	+1.9	Africa
113	Vietnam	32.9	+2.3	Asia
114	Turkey	33.0	+2.4	Europe
115	Azerbaijan	33.1	+2.5	Asia
116	Sri Lanka	33.1	+2.5	Asia
117	Bahrain	33.2	+2.6	Asia
118	Iran	33.4	+2.8	Asia
119	Qatar	33.5	+2.9	Asia
120	Grenada	33.9	+3.3	Americas
121	Seychelles	34.0	+3.4	Africa
122	New Caledonia	34.2	+3.6	Oceania
123	Saint Lucia	34.2	+3.6	Americas
124	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	34.2	+3.6	Americas
125	Brazil	34.4	+3.8	Americas
126	Costa Rica	34.6	+4.0	Americas
127	Kuwait	34.8	+4.2	Asia
128	Bahamas	35.0	+4.4	Americas
129	French Polynesia	35.4	+4.8	Oceania
130	Singapore	35.6	+5.0	Asia
131	Iceland	36.0	+5.4	Europe
132	Armenia	36.1	+5.5	Asia
133	Uruguay	36.1	+5.5	Americas
134	North Korea	36.3	+5.7	Asia
135	Chile	36.4	+5.8	Americas
136	Albania	36.7	+6.1	Europe
137	Georgia	37.0	+6.4	Asia
138	Trinidad and Tobago	37.2	+6.6	Americas
139	Mauritius	37.4	+6.8	Africa
140	New Zealand	37.5	+6.9	Oceania
141	Australia	38.0	+7.4	Oceania
142	Moldova	38.1	+7.5	Europe
143	Cyprus	38.2	+7.6	Europe
144	United States	38.3	+7.7	Americas
145	Curaçao	38.5	+7.9	Americas
146	Ireland	38.7	+8.1	Europe
147	Macao	38.9	+8.3	Asia
148	Barbados	39.2	+8.6	Americas
149	Luxembourg	39.2	+8.6	Europe
150	China	39.6	+9.0	Asia
151	Montenegro	39.6	+9.0	Europe
152	Norway	39.7	+9.1	Europe
153	Russia	39.9	+9.3	Europe
154	United Kingdom	40.0	+9.4	Europe
155	Sweden	40.1	+9.5	Europe
156	Thailand	40.1	+9.5	Asia
157	Canada	40.5	+9.9	Americas
158	North Macedonia	40.6	+10.0	Europe
159	Malta	40.7	+10.1	Europe
160	Belarus	40.9	+10.3	Europe
161	Aruba	41.3	+10.7	Americas
162	Denmark	41.3	+10.7	Europe
163	Netherlands	41.4	+10.8	Europe
164	Belgium	41.7	+11.1	Europe
165	Poland	41.8	+11.2	Europe
166	Slovakia	41.8	+11.2	Europe
167	Cuba	41.9	+11.3	Americas
168	Lithuania	42.0	+11.4	Europe
169	France	42.1	+11.5	Europe
170	Ukraine	42.1	+11.5	Europe
171	Estonia	42.3	+11.7	Europe
172	Switzerland	42.7	+12.1	Europe
173	Romania	42.9	+12.3	Europe
174	Finland	43.0	+12.4	Europe
175	Czechia	43.2	+12.6	Europe
176	Latvia	43.3	+12.7	Europe
177	Austria	43.4	+12.8	Europe
178	Hungary	43.6	+13.0	Europe
179	Serbia	44.1	+13.5	Europe
180	Taiwan	44.2	+13.6	Asia
181	Slovenia	44.3	+13.7	Europe
182	Bulgaria	44.5	+13.9	Europe
183	Croatia	45.0	+14.4	Europe
184	South Korea	45.0	+14.4	Asia
185	Bosnia and Herzegovina	45.3	+14.7	Europe
186	Germany	45.3	+14.7	Europe
187	Spain	45.4	+14.8	Europe
188	Puerto Rico	45.5	+14.9	Americas
189	Greece	46.3	+15.7	Europe
190	Portugal	46.6	+16.0	Europe
191	Hong Kong	46.8	+16.2	Asia
192	Italy	47.8	+17.2	Europe
193	Japan	49.4	+18.8	Asia

Years, 2024. Rank 1 is the youngest population. "vs world" is the country's median minus the world median of 30.6.

How to read this

The median age is the age that divides a population in half. In Japan, half of everyone alive is over 49.4. In Central African Republic, half of everyone is under 14.4, which is to say a child.

Two things move it: how many children are born, and how long people live. A country with many births has a young median regardless of life expectancy. A country where births have been low for a generation or two gets old even if lifespans stay flat. Migration matters at the margin, because migrants are mostly young adults.

Figures are the 2024 medium-variant numbers from the UN World Population Prospects 2024, which carries estimates to 2023 and projects from there. For 2024 the projection is close to certain: the people in it have already been born.

Questions

Which country has the youngest population?: Central African Republic, with a median age of 14.4: half the population is younger than that. Niger (15.4) and Somalia (15.5) are next. All ten youngest countries are in Africa. A young median means many births relative to the number of adults: the population is growing from the bottom.
Which country has the oldest population?: Japan, with a median age of 49.4, followed by Italy (47.8) and Hong Kong (46.8). These countries combine long lives with decades of low birth rates, so each new generation is smaller than the one before it.
What does median age mean?: The age that splits a population in half: as many people are older as younger. It is not the average age, which the oldest people pull upward. The median is what demographers quote because it is not skewed by a few centenarians or by how many babies were born last year. The world median is 30.6; 90 of the 193 countries here are older than that.

Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024, median age in 2024 (medium variant), via Our World in Data (fetched 2026-10-26).

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