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.

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.

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.