Countries With the Highest Share of Children in 2026

2026 medium projection

Compare the share of children under 15 and the median age for every country and area in the UN dataset.

Countries and areas: 237
Highest-ranked: Central African Republic48.2%
Rank 10: Uganda42.7%
End of table: Vatican City7.4%

Estimate or projection?

The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.

Complete countries with the highest share of children in 2026 ranking

Select any country to inspect its full age-by-sex structure and projections.

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Countries With the Highest Share of Children in 2026
Rank	Country or area	Region	Under age 15	Median age
1	Central African Republic	Africa	48.2%	14.6 years
2	Somalia	Africa	46.5%	15.6 years
3	Chad	Africa	46.0%	15.7 years
4	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	45.8%	15.9 years
4	Niger	Africa	45.8%	15.7 years
6	Mali	Africa	45.4%	15.9 years
7	Mozambique	Africa	43.9%	16.6 years
8	Angola	Africa	43.8%	16.7 years
9	Burundi	Africa	43.2%	16.6 years
10	Uganda	Africa	42.7%	17.1 years
11	Afghanistan	Asia	42.2%	17.4 years
12	Mayotte	Africa	42.1%	17.3 years
12	Tanzania	Africa	42.1%	17.6 years
14	Mauritania	Africa	42.0%	17.5 years
15	Benin	Africa	40.9%	18.2 years
15	Yemen	Asia	40.9%	18.5 years
17	Cameroon	Africa	40.8%	18.2 years
18	Burkina Faso	Africa	40.5%	18.0 years
18	Zambia	Africa	40.5%	18.2 years
20	Guinea	Africa	40.2%	18.5 years
21	Ivory Coast	Africa	40.0%	18.5 years
21	Nigeria	Africa	40.0%	18.3 years
23	Sudan	Africa	39.8%	18.8 years
24	Malawi	Africa	39.6%	18.4 years
24	Zimbabwe	Africa	39.6%	18.3 years
26	Republic of the Congo	Africa	39.4%	18.7 years
27	Gambia	Africa	39.2%	18.8 years
28	Togo	Africa	38.8%	19.2 years
29	Liberia	Africa	38.6%	19.0 years
29	Madagascar	Africa	38.6%	19.4 years
31	Ethiopia	Africa	38.5%	19.3 years
32	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	37.8%	19.6 years
33	Vanuatu	Oceania	37.6%	20.3 years
34	Samoa	Oceania	37.5%	19.8 years
35	Senegal	Africa	37.3%	19.8 years
36	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	37.2%	19.7 years
36	Sierra Leone	Africa	37.2%	19.9 years
38	Eritrea	Africa	37.1%	19.5 years
38	South Sudan	Africa	37.1%	19.0 years
40	State of Palestine	Asia	37.0%	20.3 years
41	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	36.9%	20.9 years
42	Rwanda	Africa	36.7%	20.2 years
43	Comoros	Africa	36.6%	20.7 years
44	Nauru	Oceania	36.4%	20.2 years
45	Namibia	Africa	36.3%	21.5 years
46	Solomon Islands	Oceania	36.1%	20.9 years
47	Gabon	Africa	35.9%	21.6 years
48	Pakistan	Asia	35.8%	20.8 years
49	Kenya	Africa	35.7%	20.3 years
50	Iraq	Asia	35.4%	21.1 years
50	Tajikistan	Asia	35.4%	22.4 years
52	Ghana	Africa	35.0%	21.6 years
53	Tonga	Oceania	34.4%	21.0 years
54	Kiribati	Oceania	34.0%	23.0 years
55	Lesotho	Africa	33.6%	22.1 years
56	Marshall Islands	Oceania	33.3%	20.5 years
57	Tuvalu	Oceania	32.9%	24.1 years
58	Papua New Guinea	Oceania	32.8%	23.0 years
59	Eswatini	Africa	32.6%	22.7 years
59	Timor-Leste	Asia	32.6%	22.1 years
61	Botswana	Africa	31.8%	23.7 years
62	Uzbekistan	Asia	31.5%	27.0 years
63	Kyrgyzstan	Asia	31.4%	25.5 years
64	Micronesia	Oceania	31.2%	23.5 years
65	Egypt	Africa	31.1%	24.7 years
66	Mongolia	Asia	30.9%	27.0 years
67	French Guiana	Latin America and the Caribbean	30.8%	24.9 years
67	Turkmenistan	Asia	30.8%	27.3 years
69	Guatemala	Latin America and the Caribbean	30.5%	23.8 years
70	Haiti	Latin America and the Caribbean	30.4%	24.3 years
71	Honduras	Latin America and the Caribbean	29.9%	24.6 years
72	Jordan	Asia	29.6%	24.9 years
73	Laos	Asia	29.5%	25.3 years
74	Algeria	Africa	29.4%	28.8 years
75	Cambodia	Asia	29.2%	26.4 years
76	Bolivia	Latin America and the Caribbean	29.1%	25.5 years
77	Kazakhstan	Asia	28.9%	29.7 years
78	Guyana	Latin America and the Caribbean	28.7%	26.5 years
79	Djibouti	Africa	28.5%	25.2 years
80	Paraguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	28.1%	27.3 years
81	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	27.9%	26.3 years
81	Syria	Asia	27.9%	23.8 years
83	Nepal	Asia	27.7%	25.7 years
84	Bangladesh	Asia	27.3%	26.3 years
85	Israel	Asia	26.9%	29.3 years
86	Fiji	Oceania	26.6%	28.3 years
87	Philippines	Asia	26.4%	26.6 years
88	Libya	Africa	26.2%	28.0 years
89	Belize	Latin America and the Caribbean	26.0%	27.3 years
90	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	25.8%	28.7 years
91	American Samoa	Oceania	25.7%	29.1 years
91	Guam	Oceania	25.7%	31.6 years
93	South Africa	Africa	25.6%	28.9 years
94	Tokelau	Oceania	25.5%	27.6 years
95	Lebanon	Asia	25.0%	29.0 years
95	Suriname	Latin America and the Caribbean	25.0%	28.9 years
97	Morocco	Africa	24.8%	30.1 years
98	Venezuela	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.3%	29.5 years
99	Panama	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.1%	30.6 years
100	El Salvador	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.0%	28.4 years
100	Oman	Asia	24.0%	29.8 years
102	Indonesia	Asia	23.9%	30.7 years
102	Myanmar	Asia	23.9%	30.4 years
104	Cabo Verde	Africa	23.8%	29.5 years
104	India	Asia	23.8%	29.2 years
106	Mexico	Latin America and the Caribbean	23.7%	30.0 years
107	Saudi Arabia	Asia	23.4%	29.7 years
108	Ecuador	Latin America and the Caribbean	23.3%	29.7 years
108	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	23.3%	30.5 years
110	Tunisia	Africa	23.0%	33.4 years
111	Western Sahara	Africa	22.7%	32.8 years
112	Cook Islands	Oceania	22.5%	38.1 years
113	Vietnam	Asia	22.4%	33.9 years
114	Iran	Asia	21.6%	34.5 years
114	Niue	Oceania	21.6%	35.1 years
116	Sri Lanka	Asia	21.4%	33.6 years
117	New Caledonia	Oceania	20.9%	34.8 years
118	Malaysia	Asia	20.8%	31.4 years
119	Azerbaijan	Asia	20.6%	34.1 years
119	Greenland	Northern America	20.6%	35.5 years
119	Saint Martin (French part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	20.6%	43.9 years
119	Turkey	Asia	20.6%	33.9 years
123	Argentina	Latin America and the Caribbean	20.4%	33.3 years
123	Brunei	Asia	20.4%	33.2 years
123	Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	20.4%	38.8 years
123	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America and the Caribbean	20.4%	34.7 years
127	Georgia	Asia	20.2%	37.6 years
127	Réunion	Africa	20.2%	38.4 years
129	Bhutan	Asia	19.8%	31.0 years
129	Faroe Islands	Europe	19.8%	37.1 years
131	Colombia	Latin America and the Caribbean	19.7%	33.0 years
132	Seychelles	Africa	19.6%	34.6 years
133	Kosovo	Europe	19.3%	33.2 years
134	Moldova	Europe	19.2%	39.1 years
135	Brazil	Latin America and the Caribbean	19.1%	35.2 years
136	North Korea	Asia	18.9%	36.8 years
137	Armenia	Asia	18.7%	37.2 years
138	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	18.6%	34.9 years
139	Maldives	Asia	18.4%	33.4 years
139	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America and the Caribbean	18.4%	36.5 years
141	Wallis and Futuna Islands	Oceania	18.3%	38.6 years
142	Bahrain	Asia	18.2%	33.4 years
143	Jamaica	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.9%	33.3 years
144	Costa Rica	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.8%	35.7 years
144	French Polynesia	Oceania	17.8%	36.7 years
144	Kuwait	Asia	17.8%	34.8 years
147	Montenegro	Europe	17.7%	40.4 years
148	Gibraltar	Europe	17.6%	38.8 years
148	Ireland	Europe	17.6%	39.2 years
148	New Zealand	Oceania	17.6%	38.0 years
148	Palau	Oceania	17.6%	38.9 years
152	Australia	Oceania	17.5%	38.5 years
152	Uruguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.5%	36.7 years
154	Dominica	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.4%	36.6 years
154	Saint Barthélemy	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.4%	39.1 years
156	Iceland	Europe	17.3%	36.6 years
157	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.2%	36.7 years
157	Bahamas	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.2%	35.7 years
157	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.2%	38.2 years
160	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.1%	35.1 years
161	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	16.9%	39.7 years
161	United States	Northern America	16.9%	38.7 years
163	Russia	Europe	16.7%	40.7 years
163	United Kingdom	Europe	16.7%	40.2 years
165	Sweden	Europe	16.4%	40.4 years
165	United States Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	16.4%	44.9 years
167	Albania	Europe	16.3%	37.8 years
168	Aruba	Latin America and the Caribbean	16.2%	41.7 years
168	North Macedonia	Europe	16.2%	41.4 years
170	Chile	Latin America and the Caribbean	16.1%	37.4 years
171	Cyprus	Asia	16.0%	39.1 years
171	France	Europe	16.0%	42.5 years
171	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	16.0%	39.6 years
174	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.9%	39.1 years
174	Guadeloupe	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.9%	47.4 years
174	United Arab Emirates	Asia	15.9%	31.6 years
177	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.8%	43.4 years
178	Luxembourg	Europe	15.7%	39.7 years
178	Norway	Europe	15.7%	40.1 years
180	Belarus	Europe	15.5%	41.8 years
180	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.5%	39.7 years
180	Denmark	Europe	15.5%	41.3 years
180	Montserrat	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.5%	41.8 years
184	Belgium	Europe	15.4%	42.1 years
184	Romania	Europe	15.4%	43.5 years
184	Slovakia	Europe	15.4%	42.8 years
187	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.1%	39.1 years
188	Latvia	Europe	15.0%	43.8 years
188	Qatar	Asia	15.0%	33.4 years
190	Canada	Northern America	14.9%	40.8 years
190	Estonia	Europe	14.9%	43.2 years
190	Netherlands	Europe	14.9%	41.5 years
193	China	Asia	14.8%	40.6 years
193	Czechia	Europe	14.8%	44.3 years
193	Switzerland	Europe	14.8%	43.2 years
196	Cuba	Latin America and the Caribbean	14.7%	42.5 years
197	Martinique	Latin America and the Caribbean	14.5%	50.2 years
197	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	14.5%	42.0 years
199	Bulgaria	Europe	14.3%	45.0 years
199	Hungary	Europe	14.3%	44.2 years
199	Lithuania	Europe	14.3%	42.6 years
199	Mauritius	Africa	14.3%	38.3 years
203	Curaçao	Latin America and the Caribbean	14.2%	39.0 years
203	Liechtenstein	Europe	14.2%	44.7 years
203	Serbia	Europe	14.2%	44.7 years
203	Slovenia	Europe	14.2%	45.0 years
207	Austria	Europe	14.1%	43.9 years
207	Monaco	Europe	14.1%	53.1 years
207	Poland	Europe	14.1%	43.0 years
207	Thailand	Asia	14.1%	41.0 years
211	Finland	Europe	14.0%	43.4 years
211	Jersey	Europe	14.0%	43.9 years
213	Germany	Europe	13.9%	45.7 years
214	British Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	13.8%	39.1 years
215	Guernsey	Europe	13.6%	44.5 years
215	Isle of Man	Europe	13.6%	46.3 years
217	Croatia	Europe	13.5%	45.5 years
218	Macao	Asia	13.4%	40.3 years
218	Ukraine	Europe	13.4%	41.8 years
220	Saint Helena	Africa	13.2%	51.0 years
221	Bermuda	Northern America	13.1%	46.4 years
222	Malta	Europe	12.8%	41.5 years
223	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	12.7%	46.1 years
224	Greece	Europe	12.6%	47.1 years
224	Portugal	Europe	12.6%	47.2 years
226	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Northern America	12.3%	47.6 years
226	Spain	Europe	12.3%	46.3 years
228	Singapore	Asia	11.7%	36.8 years
229	Andorra	Europe	11.4%	44.2 years
229	Italy	Europe	11.4%	48.6 years
229	San Marino	Europe	11.4%	49.1 years
232	Taiwan	Asia	11.3%	45.4 years
233	Japan	Asia	11.0%	50.2 years
234	Puerto Rico	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.9%	46.2 years
235	Hong Kong	Asia	10.0%	47.9 years
236	South Korea	Asia	9.8%	46.2 years
237	Vatican City	Europe	7.4%	56.2 years

What this ranking measures—and what it does not

Definition

The child share is the combined population aged 0–4, 5–9, and 10–14 divided by the total population. It describes composition, not the number of children.

Why it matters

A high child share is visible as a broad pyramid base. It shapes immediate needs for nutrition, vaccination, schools, caregivers, and later the transition into employment.

Read with care

Percentage and count answer different questions. A very large country with a lower child share may contain more children than a small country ranked near the top.

What stands out in this comparison

Central African Republic leads with 48.2%, while Uganda is at rank 10 with 42.7%. At the other end of the complete table, Vatican City has 7.4%.

Those positions describe this particular indicator, definition, and reference period. They do not imply that every country near the top has the same population pyramid or demographic path. Open the profiles to compare the underlying cohorts.

First five

Central African Republic — rank 1, 48.2%; median age 14.6 years.
Somalia — rank 2, 46.5%; median age 15.6 years.
Chad — rank 3, 46.0%; median age 15.7 years.
Democratic Republic of the Congo — rank 4, 45.8%; median age 15.9 years.
Niger — rank 4, 45.8%; median age 15.7 years.

Other end of the table

Vatican City — rank 237, 7.4%; median age 56.2 years.
South Korea — rank 236, 9.8%; median age 46.2 years.
Hong Kong — rank 235, 10.0%; median age 47.9 years.
Puerto Rico — rank 234, 10.9%; median age 46.2 years.
Japan — rank 233, 11.0%; median age 50.2 years.

Questions about this ranking

Which country or area ranks first for under age 15?

Central African Republic ranks first in this comparison with 48.2%. The table uses 2026 medium projection from UN World Population Prospects 2024.

Which values are estimates and which are projections?

In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections. The peak-year table labels historical and projected results separately.

Why might another source show a different rank?

Sources can use different reference dates, revisions, country definitions, estimation methods, or projection scenarios. Close ranks can also change after revisions.