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 world’s oldest and youngest countries by median age, based on 2024 estimates from the CIA World Factbook.

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 Age1???????? Monaco572???????? Saint Pierre & Miquelon513???????? Japan504???????? Andorra495???????? Italy486???????? Saint Barthelemy477???????? Hong Kong478???????? Spain479???????? Germany4710???????? Greece4711???????? Portugal4612???????? Slovenia4613???????? Puerto Rico4614???????? San Marino4615???????? South Korea4616???????? Romania4617???????? Latvia4618???????? Lithuania4519???????? Bulgaria4520???????? Croatia4521???????? Saint Helena4522???????? Estonia4523???????? Guernsey4524???????? Austria4525???????? Ukraine4526???????? Isle of Man4527???????? Hungary4528???????? Bosnia & Herzegovina4529???????? Taiwan4530???????? Liechtenstein4431???????? Czechia4432???????? Switzerland4433???????? Serbia4434???????? Bermuda4435???????? Malta4436???????? Finland4337???????? Virgin Islands4338???????? Poland4339???????? Slovakia4340???????? Canada4341???????? France4342???????? Cuba4343???????? Macau4344???????? Netherlands4245???????? Denmark4246???????? Belarus4247???????? Belgium4248???????? Russia4249???????? Thailand4250???????? Barbados4151???????? Cayman Islands4152???????? Sweden4153???????? Cook Islands4154???????? Montenegro4155???????? Sint Maarten4156???????? Aruba4157???????? Norway4158???????? UK4159???????? North Macedonia4160???????? Ireland4061???????? China4062???????? Cocos (Keeling) Islands4063???????? Moldova4064???????? Luxembourg4065???????? Saint Lucia4066???????? Mauritius4067???????? Cyprus4068???????? Singapore3969???????? U.S.3970???????? Armenia3971???????? Seychelles3972???????? Saint Kitts & Nevis3973???????? Trinidad & Tobago3974???????? British Virgin Islands3975???????? Georgia3876???????? Jersey3877???????? Australia3878???????? Christmas Island3879???????? Iceland3880???????? New Zealand3881???????? Curacao3882???????? Saint Vincent & the Grenadines3883???????? Anguilla3784???????? Dominica3785???????? Chile3786???????? Faroe Islands3787???????? Montserrat3788???????? Gibraltar3789???????? Uruguay3790???????? Lebanon3691???????? Albania3692???????? Wallis and Futuna3693???????? Turks and Caicos Islands3694???????? North Korea3695???????? United Arab Emirates3696???????? Costa Rica3697???????? Grenada3598???????? French Polynesia3599???????? Palau35100???????? Greenland35101???????? Brazil35102???????? Tunisia34103???????? New Caledonia34104???????? Azerbaijan34105???????? Qatar34106???????? Saint Martin34107???????? Sri Lanka34108???????? Türkiye34109???????? Antigua and Barbuda34110???????? Iran34111???????? Bahrain33112???????? Argentina33113???????? Vietnam33114???????? Colombia33115???????? Saudi Arabia32116???????? Northern Mariana Islands32117???????? Brunei32118???????? Suriname32119???????? Kosovo32120???????? Maldives32121???????? Kazakhstan32122???????? Malaysia32123???????? Paraguay32124???????? Fiji32125???????? Indonesia32126???????? Mongolia32127???????? Panama32128???????? Turkmenistan31129???????? Venezuela31130???????? Jamaica31131???????? Burma31132???????? Mexico31133???????? Bahamas31134???????? Bhutan31135???????? Morocco31136???????? South Africa30137???????? Guam30138???????? Kuwait30139???????? Peru30140???????? Israel30141???????? American Samoa30142???????? India30143???????? El Salvador30144???????? Bangladesh30145???????? Dominican Republic29146???????? Algeria29147???????? Nicaragua29148???????? Uzbekistan29149???????? Cabo Verde29150???????? Guyana28151???????? Kyrgyzstan28152???????? Micronesia, Federated States of28153???????? Ecuador28154???????? Cambodia28155???????? Tuvalu28156???????? Nauru28157???????? Nepal28158???????? Samoa27159???????? Oman27160???????? Kiribati27161???????? Botswana27162???????? Belize27163???????? Bolivia27164???????? Djibouti26165???????? Libya26166???????? Tonga26167???????? Philippines26168???????? Honduras26169???????? Marshall Islands26170???????? Laos25171???????? Solomon Islands25172???????? Jordan25173???????? Haiti25174???????? Guatemala25175???????? Eswatini25176???????? Vanuatu25177???????? Egypt24178???????? Syria24179???????? Lesotho24180???????? Pakistan23181???????? Tajikistan23182???????? Namibia23183???????? Comoros23184???????? Iraq22185???????? Mauritania22186???????? Equatorial Guinea22187???????? Gabon22188???????? Yemen22189???????? West Bank22190???????? Papua New Guinea22191???????? Ghana21192???????? Eritrea21193???????? Madagascar21194???????? Zimbabwe21195???????? Cote d'Ivoire21196???????? Kenya21197???????? Sao Tome & Principe21198???????? Rwanda21199???????? Togo21200???????? Congo21201???????? Timor-Leste21202???????? Central African Republic20203???????? Ethiopia20204???????? Malawi20205???????? Gambia20206???????? Afghanistan20207???????? Liberia20208???????? Gaza20209???????? Guinea19210???????? Sierra Leone19211???????? Nigeria19212???????? Sudan19213???????? Senegal19214???????? Tanzania19215???????? Somalia19216???????? Cameroon19217???????? South Sudan19218???????? Burkina Faso19219???????? Zambia18220???????? Burundi18221???????? Guinea-Bissau18222???????? Mozambique17223???????? Benin17224???????? DRC17225???????? Chad17226???????? Mali16227???????? Angola16228???????? Uganda16229???????? Niger15

Note: Figures rounded.

Meanwhile, the presence of six European nations on the oldest countries list is a quick insight into the continent’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.