Share of people aged 65 and over

The share of residents aged 65 or over: population ageing.

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World map: Share of people aged 65 and over, 2024 — Map 2024. Source: ONU, World Population Prospects, via Gapminder (CC BY 4.0).

In 2024, 177 countries have a value. Highest: Japan (29.8 %), Puerto Rico (24.7 %), Italy (24.6 %). Lowest: Qatar (1.7 %), United Arab Emirates (1.8 %), Zambia (1.9 %). World (population-weighted average): 10.2 %. France: 22.1 % (11th of 177).

Country ranking in 2024

Rank	Country	Value
1	Japan	29.8 %
2	Puerto Rico	24.7 %
3	Italy	24.6 %
4	Portugal its history →	24.5 %
5	Finland	23.9 %
6	Greece	23.9 %
7	Germany its history →	23.2 %
8	Croatia	23.2 %
9	Serbia	22.7 %
10	Bosnia & Herzegovina	22.2 %
11	France its history →	22.1 %
12	Bulgaria	22 %
13	Slovenia	21.8 %
14	Bermuda	21.7 %
15	Latvia	21.7 %
16	Estonia	21.3 %
17	Spain its history →	21.1 %
18	Hungary its history →	21 %
19	Denmark	20.9 %
20	Czechia	20.8 %
21	Sweden its history →	20.7 %
22	Austria	20.6 %
23	Belgium	20.6 %
24	Netherlands its history →	20.5 %
25	Lithuania	20.2 %
26	Malta	20.2 %
27	Poland	20.1 %
28	Switzerland its history →	20 %
29	Romania	20 %
30	Canada	19.8 %
31	United Kingdom	19.5 %
32	South Korea	19.3 %
33	Taiwan	19.2 %
34	Ukraine its history →	19 %
35	Norway	18.8 %
36	Slovakia	18.5 %
37	North Macedonia	18 %
38	United States	17.9 %
39	Montenegro	17.8 %
40	Australia its history →	17.7 %
41	Belarus	17.7 %
42	New Zealand	17.2 %
43	Russia	17.2 %
44	Albania	16.9 %
45	Cuba	16.6 %
46	Moldova	16.2 %
47	Uruguay	16 %
48	Ireland	15.9 %
49	Georgia	15.6 %
50	Iceland	15.6 %
51	Luxembourg	15.5 %
52	Thailand	15.4 %
53	China	14.7 %
54	Cyprus	14.6 %
55	Chile	14.1 %
56	Armenia	13.7 %
57	Singapore	13.7 %
58	Israel	12.6 %
59	Argentina its history →	12.4 %
60	Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)	12.4 %
61	North Korea	12.4 %
62	Trinidad & Tobago	12.4 %
63	Costa Rica	12.2 %
64	Sri Lanka	12.1 %
65	Bahamas	11.8 %
66	New Caledonia	11.4 %
67	Brazil	11 %
68	Greenland	10.8 %
69	Türkiye	10.3 %
70	Kosovo	10.1 %
71	Lebanon	10.1 %
72	Colombia	9.8 %
73	Venezuela	9.7 %
74	Tunisia	9.5 %
75	Panama	9.4 %
76	Peru	9.2 %
77	Vietnam	9 %
78	Kazakhstan	8.7 %
79	Azerbaijan	8.6 %
80	Ecuador	8.3 %
81	Iran	8.2 %
82	Jamaica	8.2 %
83	Mexico	8.2 %
84	Morocco	8.1 %
85	El Salvador	8.1 %
86	Dominican Republic	7.9 %
87	Suriname	7.9 %
88	Malaysia	7.7 %
89	Indonesia	7.3 %
90	Myanmar (Burma)	7.3 %
91	India its history →	7.1 %
92	French Guiana	7 %
93	Brunei	6.9 %
94	Guyana	6.7 %
95	South Africa	6.7 %
96	Algeria	6.6 %
97	Western Sahara	6.6 %
98	Bangladesh	6.5 %
99	Bhutan	6.5 %
100	Fiji	6.5 %
101	Nepal	6.5 %
102	Paraguay	6.5 %
103	Cambodia	6.2 %
104	Uzbekistan	5.9 %
105	Kyrgyzstan	5.7 %
106	Bolivia	5.6 %
107	Nicaragua	5.5 %
108	Philippines	5.5 %
109	Timor-Leste	5.3 %
110	Egypt	5.1 %
111	Mongolia	5.1 %
112	Belize	5 %
113	Libya	5 %
114	Djibouti	4.9 %
115	Guatemala	4.8 %
116	Haiti	4.7 %
117	Laos	4.7 %
118	Syria	4.7 %
119	Jordan	4.5 %
120	Turkmenistan	4.5 %
121	Honduras	4.4 %
122	Pakistan	4.3 %
123	Eswatini	4.3 %
124	Vanuatu	4.3 %
125	Eritrea	4.2 %
126	Gabon	4.1 %
127	Botswana	4 %
128	Lesotho	3.9 %
129	Rwanda	3.9 %
130	Tajikistan	3.9 %
131	Palestine	3.8 %
132	Ghana	3.7 %
133	Equatorial Guinea	3.7 %
134	Namibia	3.7 %
135	Senegal	3.6 %
136	Solomon Islands	3.6 %
137	Zimbabwe	3.6 %
138	Guinea	3.5 %
139	Papua New Guinea	3.5 %
140	Iraq	3.4 %
141	Madagascar	3.4 %
142	Liberia	3.3 %
143	Sudan	3.3 %
144	Ethiopia	3.2 %
145	Guinea-Bissau	3.2 %
146	Mauritania	3.2 %
147	Sierra Leone	3.2 %
148	Togo	3.2 %
149	Benin	3.1 %
150	Congo - Kinshasa	3.1 %
151	Gambia	3.1 %
152	Kuwait	3.1 %
153	Congo - Brazzaville	3 %
154	Kenya	3 %
155	Nigeria	3 %
156	Saudi Arabia	3 %
157	South Sudan	3 %
158	Tanzania	3 %
159	Angola	2.9 %
160	Cameroon	2.8 %
161	Mozambique	2.8 %
162	Burkina Faso	2.7 %
163	Côte d’Ivoire	2.6 %
164	Malawi	2.6 %
165	Niger	2.6 %
166	Oman	2.6 %
167	Somalia	2.6 %
168	Burundi	2.5 %
169	Yemen	2.5 %
170	Afghanistan	2.4 %
171	Mali	2.4 %
172	Central African Republic	2.2 %
173	Uganda	2.2 %
174	Chad	2.1 %
175	Zambia	1.9 %
176	United Arab Emirates	1.8 %
177	Qatar	1.7 %

1 countries or territories have no value that year.

Continent averages

World (population-weighted average)	10.2 %
Europe (average)	19.3 %
Africa (average)	3.6 %
Americas (average)	12.8 %
Asia (average)	10 %
Oceania (average)	13.7 %

Understanding this map

The great ageing

Worldwide, the share of people aged 65 and over has doubled, from about 5% in 1950 to 10% today. Two causes: people live longer, and above all they have fewer children, so younger generations are smaller. Japan is the oldest country (nearly 30%), ahead of Italy, Portugal, Greece and Finland (about 24%); France is at 22%, against 11% in 1950. South Korea is ageing fastest: 3% in 1950, 7% in 2000, 19% today.

Young countries

In sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility remains high, people aged 65 and over make up only 2 to 3% of the population (Niger, Chad). Gulf states also show very low figures (under 2% in Qatar and the UAE), but for another reason: a large share of their residents are working-age immigrant workers.

Why it matters

Ageing weighs on pensions and health care, funded by fewer workers per retiree, and on public debt. Compare it, in the “Correlations” tool, with social protection spending. Figures come from UN estimates (World Population Prospects), reliable for countries with regular censuses.

Sources : ONU, World Population Prospects, via Gapminder (CC BY 4.0)

In the same theme : Population

Population and density Aged 65+Immigrants

All maps

Electoral democracy index Women's right to vote Life expectancy at birth Children dying before age 5 Children per woman GDP per capita Economic freedom index Median income per person per month Income inequality (Gini index)Income share of the richest 10%Extreme poverty (under $2.15 a day)Tax revenue Public debt Public debt per person Public spending Military spending Public spending on education Public spending on health Public social spending Research and development spending Share of public debt held abroad Interest paid on public debt Share of taxes eaten up by interest on debt Public debt in years of taxes Total government revenue Top marginal income tax rate Budget balance: deficit or surplus Interest-growth gap (r − g)10-year government borrowing rate Household electricity prices Gender gap in hourly wages CO₂ emissions per person — on the territory Share of electricity from low-carbon (renewables + nuclear) sources Population and density Share of people aged 65 and over Immigrants as a share of the population Share of people with no religion Largest religion Countries accessible without a visa

Page updated on 2026-11-03.