A recent analysis reveals the world’s oldest and youngest countries by median age, uncovering striking demographic contrasts. Japan tops the list with the oldest population, reflecting its aging society, while Niger boasts the youngest median age, highlighting its youthful demographic. These extremes showcase the diverse age distributions around the globe, influencing everything from economic policies to social structures.

The median age is a single indicator of a population’s age distribution, with half older and half younger than the specified age.

It can assist governments and private firms in forecasting age-specific demand for goods and services from the resident population.

Pallavi Rao of Visual Capitalist visualizes the world’s oldest and youngest countries by median age, using CIA World Factbook predictions for 2024.

Ranked: Countries by Median Age in 2024

Monaco and Japan, two countries with high life expectancies and low birth rates, have among of the world’s highest median ages (50 and up).

A high median age indicates an aging population. Without policy support, this can have serious economic consequences.

Here are the median ages of 200+ countries and territories throughout the world.

Rank	Country/Territory	Median Age
1	🇲🇨 Monaco	57
2	🇵🇲 Saint Pierre & Miquelon	51
3	🇯🇵 Japan	50
4	🇦🇩 Andorra	49
5	🇮🇹 Italy	48
6	🇧🇱 Saint Barthelemy	47
7	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	47
8	🇪🇸 Spain	47
9	🇩🇪 Germany	47
10	🇬🇷 Greece	47
11	🇵🇹 Portugal	46
12	🇸🇮 Slovenia	46
13	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	46
14	🇸🇲 San Marino	46
15	🇰🇷 South Korea	46
16	🇷🇴 Romania	46
17	🇱🇻 Latvia	46
18	🇱🇹 Lithuania	45
19	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	45
20	🇭🇷 Croatia	45
21	🇸🇭 Saint Helena	45
22	🇪🇪 Estonia	45
23	🇬🇬 Guernsey	45
24	🇦🇹 Austria	45
25	🇺🇦 Ukraine	45
26	🇮🇲 Isle of Man	45
27	🇭🇺 Hungary	45
28	🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	45
29	🇹🇼 Taiwan	45
30	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	44
31	🇨🇿 Czechia	44
32	🇨🇭 Switzerland	44
33	🇷🇸 Serbia	44
34	🇧🇲 Bermuda	44
35	🇲🇹 Malta	44
36	🇫🇮 Finland	43
37	🇻🇮 Virgin Islands	43
38	🇵🇱 Poland	43
39	🇸🇰 Slovakia	43
40	🇨🇦 Canada	43
41	🇫🇷 France	43
42	🇨🇺 Cuba	43
43	🇲🇴 Macau	43
44	🇳🇱 Netherlands	42
45	🇩🇰 Denmark	42
46	🇧🇾 Belarus	42
47	🇧🇪 Belgium	42
48	🇷🇺 Russia	42
49	🇹🇭 Thailand	42
50	🇧🇧 Barbados	41
51	🇰🇾 Cayman Islands	41
52	🇸🇪 Sweden	41
53	🇨🇰 Cook Islands	41
54	🇲🇪 Montenegro	41
55	🇸🇽 Sint Maarten	41
56	🇦🇼 Aruba	41
57	🇳🇴 Norway	41
58	🇬🇧 UK	41
59	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	41
60	🇮🇪 Ireland	40
61	🇨🇳 China	40
62	🇨🇨 Cocos (Keeling) Islands	40
63	🇲🇩 Moldova	40
64	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	40
65	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	40
66	🇲🇺 Mauritius	40
67	🇨🇾 Cyprus	40
68	🇸🇬 Singapore	39
69	🇺🇸 U.S.	39
70	🇦🇲 Armenia	39
71	🇸🇨 Seychelles	39
72	🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis	39
73	🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago	39
74	🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands	39
75	🇬🇪 Georgia	38
76	🇯🇪 Jersey	38
77	🇦🇺 Australia	38
78	🇨🇽 Christmas Island	38
79	🇮🇸 Iceland	38
80	🇳🇿 New Zealand	38
81	🇨🇼 Curacao	38
82	🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	38
83	🇦🇮 Anguilla	37
84	🇩🇲 Dominica	37
85	🇨🇱 Chile	37
86	🇫🇴 Faroe Islands	37
87	🇲🇸 Montserrat	37
88	🇬🇮 Gibraltar	37
89	🇺🇾 Uruguay	37
90	🇱🇧 Lebanon	36
91	🇦🇱 Albania	36
92	🇼🇫 Wallis and Futuna	36
93	🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos Islands	36
94	🇰🇵 North Korea	36
95	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	36
96	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	36
97	🇬🇩 Grenada	35
98	🇵🇫 French Polynesia	35
99	🇵🇼 Palau	35
100	🇬🇱 Greenland	35
101	🇧🇷 Brazil	35
102	🇹🇳 Tunisia	34
103	🇳🇨 New Caledonia	34
104	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	34
105	🇶🇦 Qatar	34
106	🇲🇫 Saint Martin	34
107	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	34
108	🇹🇷 Türkiye	34
109	🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	34
110	🇮🇷 Iran	34
111	🇧🇭 Bahrain	33
112	🇦🇷 Argentina	33
113	🇻🇳 Vietnam	33
114	🇨🇴 Colombia	33
115	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	32
116	🇲🇵 Northern Mariana Islands	32
117	🇧🇳 Brunei	32
118	🇸🇷 Suriname	32
119	🇽🇰 Kosovo	32
120	🇲🇻 Maldives	32
121	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	32
122	🇲🇾 Malaysia	32
123	🇵🇾 Paraguay	32
124	🇫🇯 Fiji	32
125	🇮🇩 Indonesia	32
126	🇲🇳 Mongolia	32
127	🇵🇦 Panama	32
128	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	31
129	🇻🇪 Venezuela	31
130	🇯🇲 Jamaica	31
131	🇲🇲 Burma	31
132	🇲🇽 Mexico	31
133	🇧🇸 Bahamas	31
134	🇧🇹 Bhutan	31
135	🇲🇦 Morocco	31
136	🇿🇦 South Africa	30
137	🇬🇺 Guam	30
138	🇰🇼 Kuwait	30
139	🇵🇪 Peru	30
140	🇮🇱 Israel	30
141	🇦🇸 American Samoa	30
142	🇮🇳 India	30
143	🇸🇻 El Salvador	30
144	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	30
145	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	29
146	🇩🇿 Algeria	29
147	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	29
148	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	29
149	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	29
150	🇬🇾 Guyana	28
151	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	28
152	🇫🇲 Micronesia, Federated States of	28
153	🇪🇨 Ecuador	28
154	🇰🇭 Cambodia	28
155	🇹🇻 Tuvalu	28
156	🇳🇷 Nauru	28
157	🇳🇵 Nepal	28
158	🇼🇸 Samoa	27
159	🇴🇲 Oman	27
160	🇰🇮 Kiribati	27
161	🇧🇼 Botswana	27
162	🇧🇿 Belize	27
163	🇧🇴 Bolivia	27
164	🇩🇯 Djibouti	26
165	🇱🇾 Libya	26
166	🇹🇴 Tonga	26
167	🇵🇭 Philippines	26
168	🇭🇳 Honduras	26
169	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	26
170	🇱🇦 Laos	25
171	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	25
172	🇯🇴 Jordan	25
173	🇭🇹 Haiti	25
174	🇬🇹 Guatemala	25
175	🇸🇿 Eswatini	25
176	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	25
177	🇪🇬 Egypt	24
178	🇸🇾 Syria	24
179	🇱🇸 Lesotho	24
180	🇵🇰 Pakistan	23
181	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	23
182	🇳🇦 Namibia	23
183	🇰🇲 Comoros	23
184	🇮🇶 Iraq	22
185	🇲🇷 Mauritania	22
186	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	22
187	🇬🇦 Gabon	22
188	🇾🇪 Yemen	22
189	🇵🇸 West Bank	22
190	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	22
191	🇬🇭 Ghana	21
192	🇪🇷 Eritrea	21
193	🇲🇬 Madagascar	21
194	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	21
195	🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire	21
196	🇰🇪 Kenya	21
197	🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe	21
198	🇷🇼 Rwanda	21
199	🇹🇬 Togo	21
200	🇨🇬 Congo	21
201	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	21
202	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	20
203	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	20
204	🇲🇼 Malawi	20
205	🇬🇲 Gambia	20
206	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	20
207	🇱🇷 Liberia	20
208	🇵🇸 Gaza	20
209	🇬🇳 Guinea	19
210	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	19
211	🇳🇬 Nigeria	19
212	🇸🇩 Sudan	19
213	🇸🇳 Senegal	19
214	🇹🇿 Tanzania	19
215	🇸🇴 Somalia	19
216	🇨🇲 Cameroon	19
217	🇸🇸 South Sudan	19
218	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	19
219	🇿🇲 Zambia	18
220	🇧🇮 Burundi	18
221	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	18
222	🇲🇿 Mozambique	17
223	🇧🇯 Benin	17
224	🇨🇩 DRC	17
225	🇹🇩 Chad	17
226	🇲🇱 Mali	16
227	🇦🇴 Angola	16
228	🇺🇬 Uganda	16
229	🇳🇪 Niger	15

Meanwhile, the inclusion of six European nations on the list of the oldest countries provides a short glimpse into the continent’s changing demographics. According to the United Nations, one out of every four Europeans is above the age of 60.

In contrast, many African countries have low life expectancy and large birth rates. This leads to the opposite phenomenon: reduced median ages.

A low median age raises its own concerns. An increase in the number of children and adolescents might put a strain on the educational system. Underemployment and unemployment may increase if there is insufficient job growth.

However, if handled properly, low median ages might result in a demographic dividend, in which the workforce rises faster than the dependent population, improving per capita income.

Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that The Asahi Shimbun stated Tokyo officials are tackling Japan’s declining birth rate with a government-run dating app, requiring users to prove readiness for marriage by answering a series of questions.