Median Age

The age at which half the population is older and half younger.

Latest available data

This page uses the latest available WHO observation (2021). Country-level datasets often lag the current calendar year because they depend on official reporting and validation.

WHO 2021

What is the global average Median Age?

The global average Median Age is 71.29 years as of 2021. Japan has the highest at 84.46 years, while Lesotho has the lowest at 51.48 years. Data covers 185 countries. Source: WHO.

World Average
71.29 years
Highest
Japan
84.46 years
Lowest
Lesotho
51.48 years
Countries with Data
185
2021

Top Countries

#1 Japan 84.46 years
#2 Singapore 83.86 years
#3 South Korea 83.8 years
#4 Switzerland 83.33 years
#5 Australia 83.1 years

Regional Averages

Europe
77.92 years
40 country
Asia
73.13 years
47 country
Americas
72.88 years
34 country
Oceania
69.7 years
10 country
Africa
64.06 years
54 country

Country Rankings

View full rankings
Median Age — Country Rankings (2021)
# Country Value
1 Japan 84.46 years
2 Singapore 83.86 years
3 South Korea 83.8 years
4 Switzerland 83.33 years
5 Australia 83.1 years
6 Norway 82.88 years
7 Luxembourg 82.78 years
8 Sweden 82.66 years
9 Spain 82.66 years
10 Iceland 82.58 years
11 New Zealand 82.2 years
12 Italy 82.2 years
13 France 81.92 years
14 Cyprus 81.91 years
15 Malta 81.81 years
16 Israel 81.74 years
17 Ireland 81.6 years
18 Canada 81.58 years
19 Finland 81.53 years
20 Belgium 81.51 years
21 Denmark 81.18 years
22 Portugal 81.18 years
23 Netherlands 81.12 years
24 Austria 80.99 years
25 Germany 80.49 years
26 Slovenia 80.41 years
27 United Kingdom 80.1 years
28 Puerto Rico 79.9 years
29 Greece 79.6 years
30 Chile 79.02 years
31 Kuwait 78.95 years
32 Costa Rica 78.63 years
33 United Arab Emirates 78.31 years
34 China 77.62 years
35 Panama 77.24 years
36 Sri Lanka 77.23 years
37 Estonia 77.13 years
38 Czechia 77.08 years
39 Brunei 76.92 years
40 Antigua and Barbuda 76.92 years
41 Croatia 76.86 years
42 Barbados 76.84 years
43 Qatar 76.71 years
44 Saudi Arabia 76.43 years
45 Albania 76.39 years
46 United States 76.37 years
47 Algeria 75.98 years
48 Jordan 75.65 years
49 Poland 75.4 years
50 Maldives 75.4 years
51 Thailand 75.29 years
52 Turkey 75.27 years
53 Nicaragua 75.03 years
54 Uruguay 74.98 years
55 Bhutan 74.88 years
56 Bosnia and Herzegovina 74.85 years
57 Iran 74.71 years
58 Montenegro 74.71 years
59 Argentina 74.57 years
60 Colombia 74.53 years
61 Slovakia 74.51 years
62 Hungary 74.4 years
63 Bahrain 74.38 years
64 Lebanon 74.34 years
65 Lithuania 74.13 years
66 Tunisia 74.07 years
67 Seychelles 74.01 years
68 Ecuador 73.96 years
69 Vietnam 73.8 years
70 Cuba 73.67 years
71 Palestine 73.49 years
72 Mauritius 73.42 years
73 Dominican Republic 73.32 years
74 Belize 73.32 years
75 Latvia 73.2 years
76 Cape Verde 73.16 years
77 Belarus 73.12 years
78 Bangladesh 73.1 years
79 North Macedonia 73 years
80 Armenia 72.98 years
81 Azerbaijan 72.91 years
82 Malaysia 72.81 years
83 Serbia 72.81 years
84 Grenada 72.77 years
85 Romania 72.76 years
86 Tonga 72.72 years
87 North Korea 72.64 years
88 Morocco 72.62 years
89 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 72.56 years
90 Oman 72.48 years
91 Syria 72.44 years
92 Brazil 72.39 years
93 Uzbekistan 72.19 years
94 Kyrgyzstan 72.19 years
95 Libya 72.18 years
96 Tajikistan 71.81 years
97 Trinidad and Tobago 71.71 years
98 Peru 71.67 years
99 El Salvador 71.67 years
100 Iraq 71.47 years
101 Bulgaria 71.31 years
102 Georgia 71.24 years
103 Venezuela 71.22 years
104 São Tomé and Príncipe 71.18 years
105 Saint Lucia 71.11 years
106 Ukraine 70.91 years
107 Mexico 70.83 years
108 Bahamas 70.43 years
109 Kazakhstan 70.28 years
110 Samoa 70.27 years
111 Paraguay 70.27 years
112 Jamaica 70.14 years
113 Mongolia 70.1 years
114 Nepal 70.05 years
115 Russia 70.02 years
116 Suriname 69.78 years
117 Moldova 69.56 years
118 Turkmenistan 69.12 years
119 Egypt 69.11 years
120 Honduras 68.96 years
121 Cambodia 68.92 years
122 Mauritania 68.87 years
123 Guatemala 68.7 years
124 Indonesia 68.26 years
125 Laos 68.23 years
126 Timor-Leste 68 years
127 Myanmar 67.85 years
128 Ethiopia 67.84 years
129 Senegal 67.79 years
130 Sudan 67.59 years
131 Rwanda 67.54 years
132 Comoros 67.5 years
133 India 67.31 years
134 Tanzania 66.81 years
135 Kenya 66.76 years
136 Philippines 66.41 years
137 Vanuatu 66.35 years
138 Ghana 66.1 years
139 Guyana 66.08 years
140 Pakistan 65.99 years
141 Uganda 65.99 years
142 Yemen 65.76 years
143 Micronesia 65.71 years
144 Fiji 65.5 years
145 Papua New Guinea 65.49 years
146 Bolivia 65.41 years
147 Gabon 65.09 years
148 Djibouti 64.87 years
149 Solomon Islands 64.79 years
150 Gambia 64.21 years
151 Benin 64.01 years
152 Burundi 64.01 years
153 Togo 63.86 years
154 Eritrea 63.57 years
155 Ivory Coast 63.52 years
156 Liberia 63.46 years
157 Nigeria 63.4 years
158 Republic of the Congo 63.17 years
159 Madagascar 62.93 years
160 Malawi 62.49 years
161 Haiti 62.46 years
162 Burkina Faso 62.3 years
163 Angola 62.13 years
164 Cameroon 61.77 years
165 Mali 61.67 years
166 DR Congo 61.63 years
167 Equatorial Guinea 61.61 years
168 South Africa 61.5 years
169 Guinea 61.26 years
170 Botswana 61.23 years
171 Sierra Leone 61.02 years
172 Zambia 60.97 years
173 Kiribati 60.87 years
174 Namibia 60.36 years
175 Niger 59.97 years
176 Afghanistan 59.13 years
177 Chad 59.09 years
178 Guinea-Bissau 58.63 years
179 South Sudan 58.57 years
180 Zimbabwe 58.48 years
181 Mozambique 57.66 years
182 Eswatini 54.59 years
183 Somalia 53.95 years
184 Central African Republic 52.31 years
185 Lesotho 51.48 years

Definition

Median age is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; half the people are older than this age and half are younger. It is a single index that summarizes the age distribution of a population, providing a quick snapshot of whether a nation is predominantly young or old.

How it is calculated

This indicator is calculated by arranging the individual ages of all members in a population from youngest to oldest and identifying the middle value. National health organizations typically derive this from census data, civil registries, and household surveys, using interpolation methods when data is grouped into age intervals.

Interpretation

High values indicate an aging population, often linked to low fertility rates and high life expectancy, while low values suggest a young population. A rising median age typically signals increased demand for healthcare and pension systems, whereas a lower median age indicates a need for education and youth employment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Median age is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups, where 50% of people are older and 50% are younger. It serves as a vital summary measure of a population's age structure, helping researchers understand demographic shifts, fertility trends, and the balance between different age cohorts.

The latest ranking places Japan as the country with the highest median age, currently estimated at 84.46 years. This value indicates a significantly mature population. High median ages are usually found in nations with advanced medical care and low birth rates, resulting in a higher proportion of older residents.

Recent data shows that Lesotho has the lowest median age among the 185 countries analyzed, at approximately 51.48 years. A lower median age typically signifies a younger population structure. This demographic pattern is often associated with higher fertility rates and a large percentage of the population being in younger cohorts.

Statisticians calculate this metric by arranging the ages of all population members in ascending order to find the middle value. For large-scale data, mathematical interpolation is applied to age groups. The raw data typically comes from national census reports, civil registration systems, and comprehensive demographic surveys conducted worldwide.

About this data
Source
WHO WHOSIS_000001
Definition
The age at which half the population is older and half younger.
Coverage
Data for 185 countries (2021)
Limitations
Coverage varies by country and reporting period.