2026 country ranking

Countries With the Oldest Populations in 2026

Compare the midpoint of each age distribution, then use the 65+ share to see how strongly older cohorts shape the population.

Countries and areas: 237
Highest-ranked: Vatican City
Rank 10: Guadeloupe
Top-20 concentration: Europe

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 oldest populations in 2026 ranking

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

Countries With the Oldest Populations in 2026
Rank	Country or area	Region	Median age	Age 65+
1	Vatican City	Europe	56.2 years	41.0%
2	Monaco	Europe	53.1 years	35.9%
3	Saint Helena	Africa	51.0 years	28.3%
4	Japan	Asia	50.2 years	30.2%
5	Martinique	Latin America and the Caribbean	50.2 years	27.4%
6	San Marino	Europe	49.1 years	23.8%
7	Italy	Europe	48.6 years	25.6%
8	Hong Kong	Asia	47.9 years	24.7%
9	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Northern America	47.6 years	21.4%
10	Guadeloupe	Latin America and the Caribbean	47.4 years	25.5%
11	Portugal	Europe	47.2 years	25.4%
12	Greece	Europe	47.1 years	24.7%
13	Bermuda	Northern America	46.4 years	23.5%
14	Isle of Man	Europe	46.3 years	24.1%
15	Spain	Europe	46.3 years	22.2%
16	Puerto Rico	Latin America and the Caribbean	46.2 years	25.8%
17	South Korea	Asia	46.2 years	21.4%
18	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	46.1 years	23.5%
19	Germany	Europe	45.7 years	24.2%
20	Croatia	Europe	45.5 years	24.0%
21	Taiwan	Asia	45.4 years	20.9%
22	Bulgaria	Europe	45.0 years	22.5%
23	Slovenia	Europe	45.0 years	22.7%
24	United States Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	44.9 years	23.6%
25	Liechtenstein	Europe	44.7 years	22.0%
26	Serbia	Europe	44.7 years	23.4%
27	Guernsey	Europe	44.5 years	22.7%
28	Czechia	Europe	44.3 years	21.4%
29	Andorra	Europe	44.2 years	17.2%
30	Hungary	Europe	44.2 years	21.3%
31	Austria	Europe	43.9 years	21.6%
32	Jersey	Europe	43.9 years	19.7%
33	Saint Martin (French part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	43.9 years	21.0%
34	Latvia	Europe	43.8 years	22.7%
35	Romania	Europe	43.5 years	20.2%
36	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Latin America and the Caribbean	43.4 years	13.9%
37	Finland	Europe	43.4 years	24.5%
38	Estonia	Europe	43.2 years	22.3%
39	Switzerland	Europe	43.2 years	20.9%
40	Poland	Europe	43.0 years	21.3%
41	Slovakia	Europe	42.8 years	19.5%
42	Lithuania	Europe	42.6 years	21.3%
43	Cuba	Latin America and the Caribbean	42.5 years	17.6%
44	France	Europe	42.5 years	22.9%
45	Belgium	Europe	42.1 years	21.4%
46	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	42.0 years	15.1%
47	Belarus	Europe	41.8 years	18.9%
48	Montserrat	Latin America and the Caribbean	41.8 years	20.1%
49	Ukraine	Europe	41.8 years	19.1%
50	Aruba	Latin America and the Caribbean	41.7 years	18.5%
51	Malta	Europe	41.5 years	20.9%
52	Netherlands	Europe	41.5 years	21.3%
53	North Macedonia	Europe	41.4 years	19.0%
54	Denmark	Europe	41.3 years	21.4%
55	Thailand	Asia	41.0 years	16.7%
56	Canada	Northern America	40.8 years	20.7%
57	Russia	Europe	40.7 years	18.4%
58	China	Asia	40.6 years	15.1%
59	Montenegro	Europe	40.4 years	18.8%
60	Sweden	Europe	40.4 years	21.1%
61	Macao	Asia	40.3 years	15.9%
62	United Kingdom	Europe	40.2 years	19.9%
63	Norway	Europe	40.1 years	19.4%
64	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.7 years	17.6%
65	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.7 years	15.3%
66	Luxembourg	Europe	39.7 years	16.2%
67	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.6 years	12.2%
68	Ireland	Europe	39.2 years	16.5%
69	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.1 years	13.5%
70	British Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.1 years	10.6%
71	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.1 years	10.1%
72	Cyprus	Europe	39.1 years	15.3%
73	Moldova	Europe	39.1 years	17.4%
74	Saint Barthélemy	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.1 years	18.6%
75	Curaçao	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.0 years	17.8%
76	Palau	Oceania	38.9 years	12.4%
77	Gibraltar	Europe	38.8 years	18.1%
78	Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	38.8 years	11.9%
79	United States	Northern America	38.7 years	18.8%
80	Wallis and Futuna Islands	Oceania	38.6 years	15.8%
81	Australia	Oceania	38.5 years	18.5%
82	Réunion	Africa	38.4 years	16.9%
83	Mauritius	Africa	38.3 years	14.7%
84	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	38.2 years	13.5%
85	Cook Islands	Oceania	38.1 years	15.6%
86	New Zealand	Oceania	38.0 years	18.0%
87	Albania	Europe	37.8 years	18.3%
88	Georgia	Asia	37.6 years	16.4%
89	Chile	Latin America and the Caribbean	37.4 years	15.1%
90	Armenia	Asia	37.2 years	15.2%
91	Faroe Islands	Europe	37.1 years	17.8%
92	North Korea	Asia	36.8 years	13.0%
93	Singapore	Asia	36.8 years	14.8%
94	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America and the Caribbean	36.7 years	12.9%
95	French Polynesia	Oceania	36.7 years	12.6%
96	Uruguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	36.7 years	16.5%
97	Dominica	Latin America and the Caribbean	36.6 years	13.5%
98	Iceland	Europe	36.6 years	16.3%
99	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America and the Caribbean	36.5 years	12.2%
100	Bahamas	Latin America and the Caribbean	35.7 years	12.5%
101	Costa Rica	Latin America and the Caribbean	35.7 years	13.3%
102	Greenland	Northern America	35.5 years	12.3%
103	Brazil	Latin America and the Caribbean	35.2 years	11.9%
104	Niue	Oceania	35.1 years	17.2%
105	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	35.1 years	10.3%
106	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	34.9 years	13.0%
107	Kuwait	Asia	34.8 years	3.3%
108	New Caledonia	Oceania	34.8 years	12.1%
109	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America and the Caribbean	34.7 years	12.6%
110	Seychelles	Africa	34.6 years	9.0%
111	Iran	Asia	34.5 years	8.9%
112	Azerbaijan	Asia	34.1 years	9.8%
113	Turkey	Asia	33.9 years	10.9%
114	Vietnam	Asia	33.9 years	9.9%
115	Sri Lanka	Asia	33.6 years	12.8%
116	Bahrain	Asia	33.4 years	4.2%
117	Maldives	Asia	33.4 years	5.3%
118	Qatar	Asia	33.4 years	1.7%
119	Tunisia	Africa	33.4 years	10.3%
120	Argentina	Latin America and the Caribbean	33.3 years	12.9%
121	Jamaica	Latin America and the Caribbean	33.3 years	9.0%
122	Brunei	Asia	33.2 years	7.6%
123	Kosovo	Europe	33.2 years	10.9%
124	Colombia	Latin America and the Caribbean	33.0 years	10.6%
125	Western Sahara	Africa	32.8 years	7.0%
126	Guam	Oceania	31.6 years	13.6%
127	United Arab Emirates	Asia	31.6 years	1.8%
128	Malaysia	Asia	31.4 years	8.3%
129	Bhutan	Asia	31.0 years	6.8%
130	Indonesia	Asia	30.7 years	7.8%
131	Panama	Latin America and the Caribbean	30.6 years	10.0%
132	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	30.5 years	9.7%
133	Myanmar	Asia	30.4 years	7.7%
134	Morocco	Africa	30.1 years	8.8%
135	Mexico	Northern America	30.0 years	8.8%
136	Oman	Asia	29.8 years	2.7%
137	Ecuador	Latin America and the Caribbean	29.7 years	8.9%
138	Kazakhstan	Asia	29.7 years	9.3%
139	Saudi Arabia	Asia	29.7 years	3.2%
140	Cabo Verde	Africa	29.5 years	7.5%
141	Venezuela	Latin America and the Caribbean	29.5 years	10.4%
142	Israel	Asia	29.3 years	12.8%
143	India	Asia	29.2 years	7.6%
144	American Samoa	Oceania	29.1 years	9.1%
145	Lebanon	Asia	29.0 years	10.7%
146	South Africa	Africa	28.9 years	7.1%
147	Suriname	Latin America and the Caribbean	28.9 years	8.5%
148	Algeria	Africa	28.8 years	7.0%
149	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	28.7 years	8.5%
150	El Salvador	Latin America and the Caribbean	28.4 years	8.5%
151	Fiji	Oceania	28.3 years	6.8%
152	Libya	Africa	28.0 years	5.4%
153	Tokelau	Oceania	27.6 years	8.7%
154	Belize	Latin America and the Caribbean	27.3 years	5.4%
155	Paraguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	27.3 years	6.9%
156	Turkmenistan	Asia	27.3 years	5.1%
157	Mongolia	Asia	27.0 years	5.7%
158	Uzbekistan	Asia	27.0 years	6.3%
159	Philippines	Asia	26.6 years	6.0%
160	Guyana	Latin America and the Caribbean	26.5 years	7.2%
161	Cambodia	Asia	26.4 years	6.6%
162	Bangladesh	Asia	26.3 years	6.8%
163	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	26.3 years	5.9%
164	Nepal	Asia	25.7 years	6.7%
165	Bolivia	Latin America and the Caribbean	25.5 years	5.8%
166	Kyrgyzstan	Asia	25.5 years	6.3%
167	Laos	Asia	25.3 years	5.0%
168	Djibouti	Africa	25.2 years	5.1%
169	French Guiana	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.9 years	7.5%
170	Jordan	Asia	24.9 years	5.0%
171	Egypt	Africa	24.7 years	5.4%
172	Honduras	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.6 years	4.7%
173	Haiti	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.3 years	4.9%
174	Tuvalu	Oceania	24.1 years	7.5%
175	Guatemala	Latin America and the Caribbean	23.8 years	5.1%
176	Syria	Asia	23.8 years	5.0%
177	Botswana	Africa	23.7 years	4.1%
178	Micronesia	Oceania	23.5 years	6.4%
179	Kiribati	Oceania	23.0 years	4.5%
180	Papua New Guinea	Oceania	23.0 years	3.7%
181	Eswatini	Africa	22.7 years	4.4%
182	Tajikistan	Asia	22.4 years	4.3%
183	Lesotho	Africa	22.1 years	3.9%
184	Timor-Leste	Asia	22.1 years	5.2%
185	Gabon	Africa	21.6 years	4.2%
186	Ghana	Africa	21.6 years	3.9%
187	Namibia	Africa	21.5 years	3.9%
188	Iraq	Asia	21.1 years	3.5%
189	Tonga	Oceania	21.0 years	7.0%
190	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	20.9 years	3.9%
191	Solomon Islands	Oceania	20.9 years	3.7%
192	Pakistan	Asia	20.8 years	4.4%
193	Comoros	Africa	20.7 years	4.4%
194	Marshall Islands	Oceania	20.5 years	5.1%
195	Kenya	Africa	20.3 years	3.1%
196	State of Palestine	Asia	20.3 years	3.9%
197	Vanuatu	Oceania	20.3 years	4.5%
198	Nauru	Oceania	20.2 years	3.2%
199	Rwanda	Africa	20.2 years	4.1%
200	Sierra Leone	Africa	19.9 years	3.3%
201	Samoa	Oceania	19.8 years	6.2%
202	Senegal	Africa	19.8 years	3.7%
203	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	19.7 years	4.0%
204	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	19.6 years	3.3%
205	Eritrea	Africa	19.5 years	4.3%
206	Madagascar	Africa	19.4 years	3.5%
207	Ethiopia	Africa	19.3 years	3.4%
208	Togo	Africa	19.2 years	3.3%
209	Liberia	Africa	19.0 years	3.4%
210	South Sudan	Africa	19.0 years	3.2%
211	Gambia	Africa	18.8 years	3.3%
212	Sudan	Africa	18.8 years	3.5%
213	Republic of the Congo	Africa	18.7 years	3.1%
214	Guinea	Africa	18.5 years	3.5%
215	Ivory Coast	Africa	18.5 years	2.7%
216	Yemen	Asia	18.5 years	2.6%
217	Malawi	Africa	18.4 years	2.6%
218	Nigeria	Africa	18.3 years	3.1%
219	Zimbabwe	Africa	18.3 years	3.5%
220	Benin	Africa	18.2 years	3.2%
221	Cameroon	Africa	18.2 years	2.8%
222	Zambia	Africa	18.2 years	2.1%
223	Burkina Faso	Africa	18.0 years	2.7%
224	Tanzania	Africa	17.6 years	3.0%
225	Mauritania	Africa	17.5 years	3.3%
226	Afghanistan	Asia	17.4 years	2.5%
227	Mayotte	Africa	17.3 years	2.9%
228	Uganda	Africa	17.1 years	2.3%
229	Angola	Africa	16.7 years	2.9%
230	Burundi	Africa	16.6 years	2.6%
231	Mozambique	Africa	16.6 years	2.7%
232	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	15.9 years	3.1%
233	Mali	Africa	15.9 years	2.3%
234	Chad	Africa	15.7 years	2.1%
235	Niger	Africa	15.7 years	2.6%
236	Somalia	Africa	15.6 years	2.6%
237	Central African Republic	Africa	14.6 years	2.2%

Interpretation

What this ranking measures—and what it does not

Definition

Median age divides a population into equally sized younger and older halves. It rises when smaller young cohorts, longer survival, and migration patterns shift the whole distribution upward.

Why it matters

Older age structures change the balance of demand for healthcare, accessible housing, pensions, labour, and long-term care. The pace of change can matter as much as the rank.

Read with care

Median age and the 65+ share are related but not interchangeable. A country can rank differently depending on which measure is used, and the boundary at 65 is only a convention.

What stands out in the 2026 data

Vatican City leads with 56.2 years, while Guadeloupe is tenth at 47.4 years. Among the top 20 entries, Europe appears most often, with 11 countries or areas.

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

Vatican City — rank 1, 56.2 years; age 65+ 41.0%.
Monaco — rank 2, 53.1 years; age 65+ 35.9%.
Saint Helena — rank 3, 51.0 years; age 65+ 28.3%.
Japan — rank 4, 50.2 years; age 65+ 30.2%.
Martinique — rank 5, 50.2 years; age 65+ 27.4%.

Questions about this ranking

Which country ranks first for median age?

Vatican City ranks first in this comparison with 56.2 years. The ranking uses the UN WPP 2024 medium scenario for 2026.

Is 2026 observed population data?

No. In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections.

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.