These are the world's oldest and youngest countries, by median age

The median age is a single indicator of the age distribution of a population - where half the population is older and half is younger than the listed age.

It can help government and private companies plan for age-specific demand for goods and services from the resident population.

In the chart below, Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao visualizes the worldโ€™s oldest and youngest countries by median age, based on 2024 estimates from the CIA World Factbook.

Ranked: Countries by Median Age in 2024

Monaco and Japan - two countries with high life expectancies and low birth rates -`have some of the highest median ages (50+) in the world.

A high median age is indicative of an aging population. Without policy support, this can lead to economic ramifications.

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

RankCountry/TerritoryMedian Age

1๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จ Monaco57

2๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฒ Saint Pierre & Miquelon51

3๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan50

4๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Andorra49

5๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy48

6๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฑ Saint Barthelemy47

7๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong Kong47

8๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain47

9๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany47

10๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece47

11๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal46

12๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia46

13๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ท Puerto Rico46

14๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ San Marino46

15๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea46

16๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania46

17๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvia46

18๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania45

19๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria45

20๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia45

21๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ Saint Helena45

22๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonia45

23๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Guernsey45

24๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria45

25๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine45

26๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Isle of Man45

27๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary45

28๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia & Herzegovina45

29๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan45

30๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Liechtenstein44

31๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czechia44

32๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland44

33๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia44

34๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฒ Bermuda44

35๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น Malta44

36๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland43

37๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฎ Virgin Islands43

38๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland43

39๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia43

40๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada43

41๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France43

42๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ Cuba43

43๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ด Macau43

44๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands42

45๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark42

46๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ Belarus42

47๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium42

48๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia42

49๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand42

50๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ง Barbados41

51๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ Cayman Islands41

52๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden41

53๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Cook Islands41

54๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช Montenegro41

55๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Sint Maarten41

56๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ผ Aruba41

57๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway41

58๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK41

59๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North Macedonia41

60๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland40

61๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China40

62๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡จ Cocos (Keeling) Islands40

63๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova40

64๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg40

65๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡จ Saint Lucia40

66๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius40

67๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ Cyprus40

68๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore39

69๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.39

70๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Armenia39

71๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles39

72๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ณ Saint Kitts & Nevis39

73๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad & Tobago39

74๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฌ British Virgin Islands39

75๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgia38

76๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ช Jersey38

77๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia38

78๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Christmas Island38

79๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland38

80๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand38

81๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ผ Curacao38

82๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡จ Saint Vincent & the Grenadines38

83๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Anguilla37

84๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Dominica37

85๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chile37

86๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ด Faroe Islands37

87๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ธ Montserrat37

88๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Gibraltar37

89๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Uruguay37

90๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง Lebanon36

91๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albania36

92๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ซ Wallis and Futuna36

93๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡จ Turks and Caicos Islands36

94๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต North Korea36

95๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab Emirates36

96๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท Costa Rica36

97๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Grenada35

98๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ซ French Polynesia35

99๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ผ Palau35

100๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Greenland35

101๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil35

102๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia34

103๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ New Caledonia34

104๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Azerbaijan34

105๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Qatar34

106๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ซ Saint Martin34

107๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka34

108๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Tรผrkiye34

109๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Antigua and Barbuda34

110๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran34

111๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ Bahrain33

112๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentina33

113๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam33

114๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombia33

115๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi Arabia32

116๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ต Northern Mariana Islands32

117๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Brunei32

118๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท Suriname32

119๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Kosovo32

120๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ป Maldives32

121๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan32

122๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia32

123๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ Paraguay32

124๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Fiji32

125๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia32

126๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolia32

127๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ Panama32

128๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ Turkmenistan31

129๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช Venezuela31

130๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Jamaica31

131๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Burma31

132๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico31

133๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ธ Bahamas31

134๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutan31

135๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco31

136๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa30

137๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡บ Guam30

138๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ Kuwait30

139๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peru30

140๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel30

141๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ American Samoa30

142๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India30

143๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El Salvador30

144๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh30

145๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dominican Republic29

146๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Algeria29

147๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Nicaragua29

148๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan29

149๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cabo Verde29

150๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ Guyana28

151๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Kyrgyzstan28

152๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Micronesia, Federated States of28

153๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Ecuador28

154๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia28

155๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ป Tuvalu28

156๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ท Nauru28

157๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal28

158๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ธ Samoa27

159๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ Oman27

160๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Kiribati27

161๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana27

162๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ Belize27

163๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivia27

164๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Djibouti26

165๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ Libya26

166๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ด Tonga26

167๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines26

168๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ Honduras26

169๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ญ Marshall Islands26

170๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Laos25

171๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ง Solomon Islands25

172๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Jordan25

173๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น Haiti25

174๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น Guatemala25

175๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Eswatini25

176๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡บ Vanuatu25

177๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt24

178๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡พ Syria24

179๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho24

180๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan23

181๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ Tajikistan23

182๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia23

183๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Comoros23

184๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Iraq22

185๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท Mauritania22

186๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial Guinea22

187๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabon22

188๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ช Yemen22

189๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ธ West Bank22

190๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ Papua New Guinea22

191๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana21

192๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท Eritrea21

193๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar21

194๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe21

195๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cote d'Ivoire21

196๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya21

197๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น Sao Tome & Principe21

198๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda21

199๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo21

200๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Congo21

201๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ Timor-Leste21

202๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic20

203๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia20

204๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi20

205๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia20

206๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan20

207๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia20

208๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ธ Gaza20

209๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea19

210๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone19

211๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria19

212๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Sudan19

213๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal19

214๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania19

215๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia19

216๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon19

217๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan19

218๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso19

219๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia18

220๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi18

221๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-Bissau18

222๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique17

223๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin17

224๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ DRC17

225๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad17

226๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali16

227๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola16

228๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda16

229๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger15

Note: Figures rounded.

Meanwhile, the presence of six European nations on the oldest countries list is a quick insight into the continentโ€™s changing demographic. The UN estimates that one in four Europeans are currently aged 60 and over.

Conversely, many countries in Africa have low life expectancies and high birth rates. This results in the opposite phenomenon: lower median ages.

A low median age also has its own concerns. A higher proportion of children and adolescents can strain the education infrastructure. Without enough job growth, underemployment and unemployment can rise.

However, if managed well, low median ages can lead to a demographic dividend, where the workforce temporarily grows faster than the dependent population, increasing per capita income.

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By Tyler Durden / Editors

A group of editors who collectively write under the pseudonym "Tyler Durden" (a character from the novel and film Fight Club).

(Source: zerohedge.com; June 29, 2024; https://tinyurl.com/bde9w7mw)
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