The average age has risen in almost all countries since the World War II. In 1950, it was 23.9 years worldwide. In 2005, it was 28.1 years.
Among the 124 countries evaluated here, the USA are in 55th place with an median age of 38.9 years, led by Japan at 49.9 years. Niger has a median average age at only 15.2 years.
Median age by country
| Country | Median age in years | Population under 20 years old | Life in years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 49.9 | 16.1 % | 84.6 |
| Italy | 48.4 | 17.3 % | 82.9 |
| Hong Kong * | 47.2 | 15.6 % | 85.7 |
| Germany | 46.8 | 18.5 % | 81.0 |
| Spain | 46.8 | 19.1 % | 83.3 |
| Greece | 46.5 | 19.1 % | 80.3 |
| Portugal | 46.4 | 18.3 % | 81.3 |
| Slovenia | 46.3 | 19.7 % | 80.9 |
| Puerto Rico * | 46.1 | 19.0 % | 80.4 |
| South Korea | 45.5 | 16.0 % | 83.6 |
| Latvia | 45.5 | 20.6 % | 73.7 |
| Romania | 45.5 | 21.4 % | 73.2 |
| Bulgaria | 45.1 | 18.7 % | 71.7 |
| Croatia | 45.1 | 18.9 % | 76.6 |
| Lithuania | 45.1 | 19.9 % | 74.7 |
| Estonia | 45.0 | 21.6 % | 77.1 |
| Austria | 44.9 | 19.2 % | 81.3 |
| Isle of Man * | 44.9 | 19.9 % | 80.6 |
| Ukraine | 44.9 | 19.9 % | 70.1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 44.8 | 20.0 % | 75.4 |
| Hungary | 44.8 | 19.7 % | 74.7 |
| Switzerland | 44.2 | 19.9 % | 83.9 |
| Czechia | 44.2 | 20.8 % | 77.5 |
| Liechtenstein | 44.2 | 19.4 % | 84.5 |
| Serbia | 43.9 | 19.4 % | 72.9 |
| Bermuda * | 43.8 | 20.0 % | 79.4 |
| Malta | 43.5 | 17.2 % | 82.8 |
| Finland | 43.3 | 20.7 % | 82.0 |
| Virgin Islands * | 43.0 | 24.7 % | 80.4 |
| Poland | 42.9 | 20.2 % | 75.8 |
| Slovakia | 42.8 | 20.9 % | 74.9 |
| Canada | 42.6 | 20.9 % | 82.7 |
| Cuba | 42.6 | 21.2 % | 73.8 |
| France | 42.6 | 23.3 % | 82.5 |
| Macao * | 42.5 | 18.5 % | 85.5 |
| Denmark | 42.2 | 21.9 % | 81.5 |
| Netherlands | 42.2 | 21.1 % | 81.5 |
| Belarus | 42.1 | 21.8 % | 72.9 |
| Belgium | 42.0 | 22.2 % | 82.0 |
| Russia | 41.9 | 22.9 % | 69.9 |
| Thailand | 41.5 | 21.2 % | 78.9 |
| Barbados | 41.4 | 23.3 % | 77.6 |
| Palestine | 41.4 | 49.2 % | 73.5 |
| Montenegro | 41.1 | 24.1 % | 74.0 |
| Sweden | 41.1 | 23.4 % | 83.2 |
| Sint Maarten * | 41.0 | 20.7 % | 73.9 |
| Aruba * | 40.9 | 22.9 % | 74.7 |
| United Kingdom | 40.8 | 23.2 % | 80.8 |
| Norway | 40.8 | 22.6 % | 83.2 |
| North Macedonia | 40.5 | 21.7 % | 74.6 |
| China | 40.2 | 22.9 % | 78.3 |
| Ireland | 40.2 | 26.2 % | 82.2 |
| Luxembourg | 39.9 | 21.0 % | 82.8 |
| Singapore | 39.4 | 16.1 % | 83.4 |
| United States | 38.9 | 24.5 % | 76.4 |
| Georgia | 38.3 | 27.0 % | 72.0 |
| Australia | 38.1 | 24.0 % | 83.4 |
| New Zealand | 37.9 | 24.9 % | 82.3 |
| Chile | 36.9 | 24.5 % | 79.0 |
| Albania | 36.3 | 22.5 % | 76.6 |
| North Korea | 35.9 | 25.4 % | 73.3 |
| United Arab Emirates | 35.8 | 18.6 % | 78.4 |
| Costa Rica | 35.5 | 27.3 % | 77.1 |
| Brazil | 35.1 | 27.6 % | 72.8 |
| Qatar | 34.3 | 19.0 % | 79.0 |
| Sri Lanka | 34.1 | 30.9 % | 76.4 |
| Turkey | 34.0 | 30.6 % | 76.1 |
| Iran | 33.8 | 30.1 % | 74.0 |
| Argentina | 33.3 | 30.7 % | 75.4 |
| Vietnam | 33.1 | 29.5 % | 73.7 |
| Colombia | 32.7 | 29.1 % | 73.0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 32.4 | 33.4 % | 76.9 |
| Malaysia | 31.8 | 30.6 % | 75.0 |
| Indonesia | 31.5 | 33.4 % | 67.6 |
| Venezuela | 31.0 | 37.0 % | 70.8 |
| Mexico | 30.8 | 33.0 % | 70.6 |
| Myanmar | 30.8 | 33.1 % | 65.8 |
| Morocco | 30.6 | 34.7 % | 74.1 |
| South Africa | 30.4 | 36.7 % | 62.3 |
| Israel | 30.1 | 35.9 % | 82.6 |
| India | 29.8 | 34.3 % | 67.3 |
| El Salvador | 29.7 | 34.4 % | 70.8 |
| Bangladesh | 29.6 | 35.7 % | 72.4 |
| Algeria | 29.1 | 37.9 % | 76.4 |
| Ecuador | 28.0 | 34.4 % | 73.9 |
| Cambodia | 27.9 | 37.8 % | 69.6 |
| Nepal | 27.6 | 39.3 % | 68.5 |
| Bolivia | 26.6 | 40.5 % | 63.8 |
| Honduras | 25.7 | 40.4 % | 70.2 |
| Philippines | 25.7 | 39.8 % | 69.3 |
| Haiti | 25.0 | 42.0 % | 63.3 |
| Guatemala | 24.8 | 42.9 % | 69.4 |
| Egypt | 24.4 | 41.7 % | 70.2 |
| Pakistan | 22.9 | 47.2 % | 66.2 |
| Iraq | 22.4 | 48.0 % | 70.3 |
| Yemen | 22.0 | 50.3 % | 63.8 |
| Ghana | 21.4 | 47.1 % | 63.8 |
| Kenya | 21.2 | 49.2 % | 61.5 |
| Zimbabwe | 21.2 | 51.7 % | 59.3 |
| East Timor | 20.6 | 46.5 % | 67.8 |
| Ethiopia | 20.4 | 50.7 % | 65.1 |
| Afghanistan | 20.0 | 54.8 % | 62.1 |
| Liberia | 19.9 | 51.9 % | 60.7 |
| Guinea | 19.4 | 52.4 % | 58.9 |
| Sierra Leone | 19.4 | 49.9 % | 60.1 |
| Nigeria | 19.3 | 53.9 % | 52.7 |
| Sudan | 19.3 | 51.0 % | 65.3 |
| Senegal | 19.2 | 52.2 % | 67.1 |
| Somalia | 19.1 | 58.0 % | 55.3 |
| Tanzania | 19.1 | 54.4 % | 66.3 |
| Cameroon | 18.9 | 52.9 % | 60.4 |
| Burkina Faso | 18.7 | 54.7 % | 59.2 |
| South Sudan | 18.7 | 56.2 % | 55.0 |
| Burundi | 18.4 | 56.7 % | 61.7 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 18.4 | 51.1 % | 59.6 |
| Zambia | 18.4 | 54.0 % | 61.2 |
| Mozambique | 17.3 | 54.4 % | 59.4 |
| Benin | 17.2 | 52.9 % | 59.8 |
| Congo (Dem. Republic) | 16.9 | 56.9 % | 59.3 |
| Chad | 16.7 | 58.3 % | 52.6 |
| Mali | 16.4 | 58.4 % | 59.0 |
| Angola | 16.3 | 55.5 % | 61.7 |
| Uganda | 16.2 | 56.6 % | 62.7 |
| Niger | 15.2 | 59.7 % | 61.6 |
All figures are from the years 2021 to 2024.
Influences on the average age
Various factors have an influence on the age of a country's population. In economic nations and highly developed countries in particular, reliable nutrition and medical care leads to higher life expectancy and thus to an increase in the age of the population. A higher proportion of women also results in a slight increase, as women generally have a higher life expectancy.
However, the birth rate has the greatest influence. In almost all countries with higher incomes, the birth rate is remarkably low (cf. Population growth by country) and very high in poorer countries.
In most industrialized countries, for example, the lack of young people is currently causing the average age to rise, while in less developed countries, the age is stagnating or even falling.
* The marked countries are not independent and sovereign states, but dependent territories of other states. Cf. also our article What is a country?
Data sources
Median age is published every five years by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The CIA's Factbook also lists these data. Life expectancy is based on data from the Population and Vital Statistics Report of the United Nations. All data are projections or estimates based on available population figures.
Comparison: Population growth by countryPopulation development by country since 1960 in global comparison
Average life expectancy by countryInternational ranking of life expectancy in 122 countries including summary by continents. Explanation of significant factors.
Comparison of the global population densityA juxtaposition of the population density in 92 countries. USA comes 80th.
