Japan's median age is more than three times Niger's
Median age in 2026 by country, youngest to oldest, against 1950 (marker).
- 1. The world has already passed peak child
- 2. Japan's median age is more than three times Niger's
- 3. South Korea now has a quarter of its 1971 births
- 4. China's population is projected to more than halve by 2100
- 5. Japan now has over 100,000 centenarians, up from 153
- 6. Japan has 9 million empty homes: one in seven
- 7. One in ten in Japan will be foreign by 2070
- 8. Japan's foreign residents have doubled since 2012, passing 4 million
- 9. Jakarta, not Tokyo, is the world's largest city
- 10. Two in three newly licensed UK doctors qualified abroad
- 11. Iran dropped from top refugee host to fifth in 2025
- 12. More Christians live in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else
- 13. Two in three people live where fertility is below replacement
- 14. Japan's births fell below half their 1899 level
- 15. DR Congo now has more children than Brazil
- 16. Brazil now has more people over 65 than Germany
- 17. Egypt has more asylum seekers than Germany, Spain and Italy
- 18. 34 countries and territories are past their population peak
- 19. Chile's fertility rate fell below Italy's and Japan's
- 20. Nigeria now has almost 25 million more people than Brazil
- 21. Thailand's births have fallen below its deaths
- 22. Women hold at least half the seats in seven parliaments
- 23. Child marriage in South Asia has nearly halved since 2005
- 24. Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
The age gap between Japan's median person (50.2) and Niger's (15.7).
Chad is younger now (15.7) than it was in 1950 (20.3).
Japan aged the most of the countries shown. South Korea is close behind at +28.5.
the numbers & method
| Median age 2026 (yrs) | 1950 (yrs) | Change since 1950 (yrs) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niger | 15.7 | 14.0 | 1.8 |
| Chad | 15.7 | 20.3 | -4.5 |
| Nigeria | 18.4 | 18.1 | 0.3 |
| Pakistan | 20.8 | 17.3 | 3.4 |
| Egypt | 24.7 | 19.6 | 5.2 |
| India | 29.2 | 20.0 | 9.2 |
| World | 31.1 | 22.2 | 8.9 |
| Brazil | 35.3 | 17.5 | 17.8 |
| United States | 38.7 | 29.0 | 9.8 |
| China | 40.7 | 22.3 | 18.4 |
| Germany | 45.7 | 32.9 | 12.8 |
| South Korea | 46.2 | 17.7 | 28.5 |
| Italy | 48.6 | 27.6 | 21.1 |
| Japan | 50.2 | 21.3 | 28.9 |
Claim types Fact · Estimate
Values are WPP 2024 figures for 1950 (estimate) and 1 July 2026 (medium-variant projection), as tabulated by StatisticsTimes; a separate WPP-based source (database.earth) gives Niger 15.4 for 2024. Change since 1950 is derived (2026 minus 1950). A 2050 metric was dropped: two secondary sources gave conflicting 2050 values (Niger 21.2 vs 22.1), so it could not be verified. Corrected 3 Nov 2026: title made one idea, 10 words or fewer; no change to the data.
Published 6 Oct 2026
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