Age Structure
Age Structure by Country 2026
Country | Aged 0-14 2024↓ | Aged 15-64 2024 | Aged 65+ 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Niger | 49.5% | 47.8% | 2.7% |
 | Uganda | 47% | 50.6% | 2.4% |
 | Angola | 46.9% | 50.7% | 2.4% |
 | Mali | 46.8% | 50.1% | 3.1% |
 | Chad | 45.8% | 51.7% | 2.5% |
 | DR Congo | 45.7% | 51.8% | 2.5% |
 | Benin | 45.3% | 52.2% | 2.5% |
 | Mozambique | 44.7% | 52.4% | 2.9% |
 | Burundi | 42.3% | 54.4% | 3.4% |
 | Guinea-Bissau | 42.3% | 54.6% | 3.1% |
 | Zambia | 42.1% | 55.1% | 2.8% |
 | South Sudan | 42.1% | 55.3% | 2.6% |
 | Burkina Faso | 41.6% | 55.1% | 3.2% |
 | Cameroon | 41.5% | 55.3% | 3.2% |
 | Somalia | 41.4% | 55.8% | 2.8% |
 | Tanzania | 41.2% | 55.4% | 3.4% |
 | Guinea | 40.9% | 55.1% | 4% |
 | Senegal | 40.7% | 55.9% | 3.4% |
 | Nigeria | 40.4% | 56.2% | 3.4% |
 | Sudan | 40.1% | 56.7% | 3.2% |
 | Sierra Leone | 40.1% | 57.4% | 2.5% |
 | Afghanistan | 39.6% | 57.5% | 2.9% |
 | Liberia | 38.9% | 57.9% | 3.2% |
 | Ethiopia | 38.7% | 58% | 3.4% |
 | Togo | 38.7% | 57% | 4.3% |
 | Timor-Leste | 38.7% | 56.8% | 4.5% |
 | Central African Republic | 38.5% | 58% | 3.5% |
 | Zimbabwe | 38.3% | 57.8% | 3.9% |
 | Gambia | 38.2% | 58.1% | 3.7% |
 | Republic of the Congo | 37.8% | 57.8% | 4.3% |
 | Malawi | 37.7% | 58.4% | 3.9% |
 | Ghana | 37.4% | 58.2% | 4.4% |
 | Rwanda | 37.2% | 59.7% | 3.1% |
 | Papua New Guinea | 37.1% | 58.9% | 4% |
 | Madagascar | 37% | 59.1% | 3.9% |
 | Tajikistan | 36.9% | 59.3% | 3.9% |
 | Palestine | 36.7% | 59.5% | 3.9% |
 | Sao Tome and Principe | 36.4% | 60.3% | 3.2% |
 | Ivory Coast | 36.1% | 60.9% | 3% |
 | Kenya | 35.8% | 60.9% | 3.4% |
 | Mauritania | 35.7% | 59.9% | 4.4% |
 | Eritrea | 35.7% | 60.3% | 4% |
 | Equatorial Guinea | 35.6% | 59.4% | 5% |
 | Iraq | 34.6% | 61.7% | 3.6% |
 | Gabon | 34.6% | 61.1% | 4.3% |
 | Pakistan | 34.4% | 60.7% | 4.9% |
 | Yemen | 34.4% | 62.2% | 3.4% |
 | Namibia | 34.1% | 62% | 3.9% |
 | Egypt | 33.8% | 60.6% | 5.6% |
 | Syria | 33% | 62.8% | 4.2% |
 | Comoros | 32.6% | 62.8% | 4.6% |
 | Libya | 32.3% | 63.2% | 4.6% |
 | Lesotho | 32% | 62.7% | 5.4% |
 | Eswatini | 31.6% | 64.3% | 4% |
 | Guatemala | 31.5% | 63.2% | 5.4% |
 | Vanuatu | 31.1% | 63.8% | 5% |
 | Jordan | 30.9% | 64.9% | 4.2% |
 | Algeria | 30.8% | 62.3% | 6.9% |
 | Solomon Islands | 30.6% | 64.2% | 5.3% |
 | Haiti | 30.5% | 65.3% | 4.2% |
 | Philippines | 30.2% | 64.3% | 5.6% |
 | Laos | 30.1% | 65% | 4.8% |
 | Marshall Islands | 30% | 64.3% | 5.7% |
 | Oman | 29.8% | 66.2% | 4% |
 | Uzbekistan | 29.6% | 63.7% | 6.7% |
 | Nauru | 29.6% | 66% | 4.4% |
 | Tonga | 29.3% | 63.2% | 7.4% |
 | Tuvalu | 29.2% | 63.2% | 7.6% |
 | Kyrgyzstan | 29.1% | 64% | 6.9% |
 | Cambodia | 28.9% | 65.8% | 5.3% |
 | Honduras | 28.7% | 65.7% | 5.6% |
 | Botswana | 28.7% | 65.2% | 6.1% |
 | Bolivia | 28.5% | 64.5% | 7% |
 | Djibouti | 28.4% | 67.4% | 4.2% |
 | Belize | 27.7% | 66.7% | 5.5% |
 | Kazakhstan | 27.6% | 62.8% | 9.6% |
 | Israel | 27.5% | 60.3% | 12.3% |
 | South Africa | 27.2% | 65.3% | 7.5% |
 | Micronesia | 27% | 67.3% | 5.7% |
 | Samoa | 26.9% | 65.9% | 7.2% |
 | Ecuador | 26.8% | 64.1% | 9.1% |
 | Kiribati | 26.8% | 67.9% | 5.4% |
 | Cape Verde | 26.4% | 67.2% | 6.4% |
 | Guam | 26.4% | 62.7% | 10.9% |
 | Peru | 25.8% | 66.2% | 8% |
 | Nepal | 25.8% | 67.8% | 6.4% |
 | Morocco | 25.7% | 65.9% | 8.4% |
 | Mongolia | 25.7% | 68.4% | 5.9% |
 | Dominican Republic | 25.5% | 66.9% | 7.6% |
 | El Salvador | 25.3% | 66.3% | 8.4% |
 | American Samoa | 25.3% | 66% | 8.7% |
 | Bangladesh | 25.1% | 67.1% | 7.8% |
 | Nicaragua | 25.1% | 68.9% | 6% |
 | Venezuela | 25% | 65.9% | 9.1% |
 | Panama | 25% | 64.8% | 10.1% |
 | Fiji | 24.7% | 66.4% | 8.9% |
 | Saint Martin | 24.7% | 64.5% | 10.8% |
 | India | 24.5% | 68.7% | 6.8% |
 | Turkmenistan | 24.5% | 68.6% | 6.9% |
 | Myanmar | 24.4% | 68.5% | 7.1% |
 | Tunisia | 24.4% | 65.2% | 10.4% |
 | Indonesia | 23.8% | 68.3% | 8% |
 | Jamaica | 23.8% | 65.7% | 10.4% |
 | Guyana | 23.5% | 68.4% | 8.1% |
 | Mexico | 23.3% | 68.6% | 8.2% |
 | Iran | 23.3% | 69.8% | 7% |
 | Argentina | 23.3% | 63.9% | 12.8% |
 | Vietnam | 23.2% | 68.5% | 8.3% |
 | Bhutan | 23.1% | 70.2% | 6.7% |
 | Kuwait | 23% | 73.4% | 3.6% |
 | Saudi Arabia | 22.9% | 72.7% | 4.4% |
 | Sri Lanka | 22.6% | 65% | 12.4% |
 | Suriname | 22.5% | 70% | 7.5% |
 | Maldives | 22.4% | 71.5% | 6.1% |
 | Colombia | 22.3% | 66.5% | 11.2% |
 | Azerbaijan | 22.3% | 68.7% | 9% |
 | Malaysia | 22.2% | 69.4% | 8.4% |
 | Paraguay | 22.2% | 68.4% | 9.4% |
 | Northern Mariana Islands | 22.1% | 67.7% | 10.2% |
 | Grenada | 21.9% | 65.3% | 12.8% |
 | Antigua and Barbuda | 21.8% | 67.6% | 10.5% |
 | Turkey | 21.7% | 68.6% | 9.6% |
 | Brunei | 21.7% | 70.8% | 7.5% |
 | Bahamas | 21.4% | 70% | 8.6% |
 | Anguilla | 20.8% | 67.5% | 11.7% |
 | New Caledonia | 20.7% | 68.4% | 10.8% |
 | Dominica | 20.7% | 65.6% | 13.7% |
 | Georgia | 20.6% | 62.7% | 16.7% |
 | Greenland | 20.4% | 67.1% | 12.5% |
 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 20.4% | 73.2% | 6.4% |
 | French Polynesia | 20.3% | 68.7% | 11% |
 | Faroe Islands | 20% | 61.5% | 18.5% |
 | Gibraltar | 20% | 62.5% | 17.5% |
 | North Korea | 19.9% | 68.9% | 11.2% |
 | Iceland | 19.8% | 63.2% | 17.1% |
 | Wallis and Futuna | 19.8% | 67.5% | 12.7% |
 | Brazil | 19.6% | 69.5% | 10.9% |
 | Chile | 19.2% | 67.3% | 13.6% |
 | Curacao | 19.2% | 62.3% | 18.5% |
 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 19.2% | 68.1% | 12.7% |
 | New Zealand | 19% | 64.2% | 16.9% |
 | Lebanon | 18.9% | 71.6% | 9.5% |
 | Uruguay | 18.9% | 65.4% | 15.7% |
 | Costa Rica | 18.8% | 70.2% | 11.1% |
 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 18.8% | 68.2% | 13% |
 | Trinidad and Tobago | 18.7% | 67.2% | 14.1% |
 | United States Virgin Islands | 18.7% | 59.8% | 21.5% |
 | Ireland | 18.6% | 65.5% | 15.8% |
 | Sint Maarten | 18.4% | 66.3% | 15.2% |
 | Australia | 18.3% | 64.7% | 17% |
 | Cook Islands | 18.2% | 65.9% | 16% |
 | United States | 18.1% | 63.4% | 18.5% |
 | Bahrain | 18.1% | 77.7% | 4.3% |
 | Albania | 18% | 66.9% | 15.1% |
 | Saint Lucia | 17.9% | 66.7% | 15.4% |
 | Armenia | 17.7% | 67% | 15.3% |
 | Montenegro | 17.7% | 64.4% | 17.9% |
 | Seychelles | 17.7% | 72.4% | 10% |
 | Palau | 17.5% | 71.3% | 11.2% |
 | Cayman Islands | 17.4% | 65.9% | 16.7% |
 | France | 17.3% | 60.7% | 22% |
 | Aruba | 17.2% | 65.7% | 17.1% |
 | Sweden | 17.1% | 62.1% | 20.8% |
 | Jersey | 17% | 64.6% | 18.3% |
 | Belgium | 16.9% | 62.8% | 20.2% |
 | United Kingdom | 16.7% | 63.9% | 19.3% |
 | Luxembourg | 16.7% | 67.1% | 16.1% |
 | Barbados | 16.6% | 67% | 16.3% |
 | British Virgin Islands | 16.6% | 71.3% | 12.1% |
 | Russia | 16.5% | 65.7% | 17.8% |
 | United Arab Emirates | 16.4% | 81.4% | 2.2% |
 | Bermuda | 16.4% | 60.9% | 22.7% |
 | China | 16.3% | 69.3% | 14.4% |
 | Cuba | 16.3% | 66.5% | 17.2% |
 | Norway | 16.3% | 64.5% | 19.1% |
 | Denmark | 16.2% | 62.9% | 20.8% |
 | Finland | 16.2% | 60.3% | 23.5% |
 | Belarus | 16.1% | 66.1% | 17.8% |
 | North Macedonia | 16% | 68.4% | 15.6% |
 | Isle of Man | 16% | 61.9% | 22.1% |
 | Thailand | 15.8% | 69% | 15.1% |
 | Montserrat | 15.8% | 76.1% | 8% |
 | Czechia | 15.7% | 63.8% | 20.5% |
 | Cyprus | 15.6% | 70% | 14.4% |
 | Canada | 15.5% | 63.4% | 21% |
 | Romania | 15.4% | 62% | 22.6% |
 | Slovakia | 15.3% | 66.5% | 18.1% |
 | Liechtenstein | 15.3% | 63.9% | 20.8% |
 | Netherlands | 15.2% | 64.1% | 20.7% |
 | Lithuania | 15.2% | 62.6% | 22.2% |
 | Estonia | 15.2% | 62.2% | 22.6% |
 | Switzerland | 15.1% | 64.6% | 20.3% |
 | Mauritius | 15.1% | 71% | 13.9% |
 | Moldova | 14.8% | 70.2% | 15% |
 | Latvia | 14.7% | 63% | 22.2% |
 | Hungary | 14.6% | 63.9% | 21.5% |
 | Singapore | 14.6% | 71.1% | 14.3% |
 | Malta | 14.5% | 62.4% | 23.1% |
 | Serbia | 14.4% | 65.6% | 20% |
 | Macau | 14.4% | 69.9% | 15.7% |
 | Slovenia | 14.3% | 62.5% | 23.2% |
 | Guernsey | 14.3% | 64.1% | 21.5% |
 | Poland | 14.2% | 65.9% | 19.8% |
 | San Marino | 14.2% | 64.3% | 21.5% |
 | Austria | 14.1% | 64.7% | 21.2% |
 | Saint Barthelemy | 13.9% | 63.1% | 23% |
 | Germany | 13.8% | 62.5% | 23.7% |
 | Greece | 13.8% | 62.6% | 23.6% |
 | Bulgaria | 13.8% | 65.2% | 21% |
 | Croatia | 13.8% | 63.1% | 23.1% |
 | Hong Kong | 13.2% | 64.8% | 21.9% |
 | Qatar | 13.1% | 85.4% | 1.5% |
 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13.1% | 68.3% | 18.6% |
 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 13.1% | 61.6% | 25.3% |
 | Spain | 13% | 66.1% | 20.9% |
 | Portugal | 12.7% | 65% | 22.3% |
 | Puerto Rico | 12.5% | 62.6% | 24.9% |
 | Ukraine | 12.3% | 67.8% | 19.9% |
 | Japan | 12.1% | 58.4% | 29.5% |
 | Taiwan | 12.1% | 69% | 18.8% |
 | Andorra | 12% | 67.7% | 20.4% |
 | Italy | 11.9% | 64.5% | 23.6% |
 | South Korea | 11.3% | 69.4% | 19.3% |
 | Monaco | 9.1% | 53.8% | 37.1% |
- Age structure is a method of examining the age distribution in a country and is typically split into three categories: 0-14 years (children), 15-64 years (working age), and 65 years and over (elderly).
- Age structure impacts a nation’s key political or socioeconomic issues. Countries with high percentage of residents under age 15 may need to invest in education, countries with high percentages of 65+ residents may need to invest more in the health sector, and a country whose young adult population exceeds the number of available jobs will need to address excess unemployment and possible civil unrest.
Age Structure The distribution of a population across different age groups, typically divided into children (0–14), working-age adults (15–64), and seniors (65+).
Countries With the Youngest Population Structures
The world’s youngest populations are concentrated heavily in Sub-Saharan Africa, where countries such as Niger, Uganda, Angola, Mali, and Chad have extraordinarily large shares of residents under the age of 15. In Niger alone, nearly half the population falls into this youngest age group. High fertility rates, improving child survival, and rapidly growing populations all contribute to these unusually youthful demographic structures.
Young populations can create enormous long-term economic potential, especially if countries are able to expand education, infrastructure, healthcare, and employment opportunities fast enough to match population growth. At the same time, extremely youthful populations can place pressure on schools, housing systems, food supplies, and labor markets when economic development struggles to keep pace.
Countries With the Oldest Population Structures
At the opposite end of the spectrum are aging societies such as Monaco, Japan, Italy, Germany, and Portugal, where large portions of the population are now over the age of 65. Monaco stands out dramatically, with seniors accounting for more than one-third of its population. Japan also continues to rank among the world’s oldest societies, reflecting decades of low birth rates and long life expectancy.
Older age structures reshape economies in major ways. Governments often face rising healthcare and pension costs, while businesses contend with shrinking workforces and slower population growth. In response, many aging countries are increasingly relying on immigration, automation, delayed retirement, and family-support policies to stabilize their economies and offset demographic decline.
Why Large Working-Age Populations Matter Economically
Countries with especially large working-age populations often gain important economic advantages. Places such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait have unusually high shares of residents between ages 15 and 64, largely because of labor migration systems that attract foreign workers while maintaining relatively small native populations.
A strong working-age majority can boost productivity, tax revenue, construction, and consumer spending. However, these demographic advantages are not always permanent. As populations age and birth rates decline globally, many countries are beginning to compete aggressively for skilled workers, immigrants, and younger populations capable of sustaining future economic growth.
How Age Structure Shapes a Country’s Future
A country’s age structure influences far more than population statistics. It affects housing demand, healthcare systems, retirement policies, military capacity, education spending, and long-term economic growth. Younger societies often focus heavily on schools, job creation, and infrastructure, while older societies devote increasing resources to pensions, elder care, and healthcare services.
Demographic change also tends to unfold slowly, making age structure one of the clearest long-term indicators of where a country may be headed economically and socially. Nations able to balance healthy birth rates, strong labor participation, and sustainable aging populations are often better positioned for long-term stability and prosperity.
