Countries With the Highest Median Age

Median age divides the population into two numerically equal age groups. It is whereby half the population is below the median age while the other half is above or older. Median age summarizes the population’s age distribution. The median age ranges from as low as 15.3 in Niger to 52.4 in Monaco. The world’s median age is approximately 30.1 with the male recording 29.4 years and the female 30.9 years. Compared to Africa, Europe has a relatively old population with the majority of the countries in Europe having a median age of over 40. But which countries have the highest median age?

Countries With the Highest Median Age

Europe

As would be expected, the developed countries of the world have the most elderly population. Europe, which accounts for most of the developed countries, unsurprisingly dominates the top 25 countries with the highest median age. Europe has a median age of 42.7 years with the male recording 41.3 years and the female population 44.1. Monaco has the most aged population with a median age of 52.4 years. The median age of the male population is 51.4 while the female is 53.7 years. Monaco is five years older than the continent’s second, Germany (46.8 years). Germany, Italy, Greece, San Marino, and Slovenia also top the list of countries with the highest median age in Europe. The five countries have a median age of over 44 years. Austria, Andorra, Lithuania, Latvia, Liechtenstein, and Croatia close the list of European countries with the median age above the continent’s age of 42.7 years. The rest of the European countries are below the continent’s median age.

Asia

Japan has the most aged population in Asia and is only second to Monaco with a median age of 46.9 years. The male population in Japan has a median age of 45.6 years while the female population is 48.3 years. At 44 years, Hong Kong has the tenth highest median age in the world and second in Asia. Other notable Asian countries with high median ages include South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and China, all with a median age above 35 years.

Outside of Asia and Europe

The United States of America has a median age of 37.9 years, ranking it 62nd in the world. The male population in the US has a median age of 36.6 years compared to the female’s 39.3 years. The US is followed by New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, and Mauritius with a median age of over 34 years. In all of these countries, the female population has a higher median age compared to the male population.

Importance of Median Age

Ages are not easy to measure, especially among the older or illiterate population where people tend to round off their ages to the multiple of 5 or 10. The median age is resistant to age inaccuracy and is not easily influenced by factors that would affect the mean age. It is more up-to-date statistics of a country’s age distribution compared to the mean age. Unlike the mean age, the median age gives a better picture of a population’s age distribution. For instance, if the median age is 30 years, one will automatically know that half the population is older than 30. If the mean age is 30, one cannot tell much because the mean age can be influenced by a large population bulge above the mean age.