Share of Population Aged 65 and Over by Country (2026)

The three oldest countries are Monaco (36), Japan (30), Puerto Rico (25.3); the three youngest are Qatar (1.7), United Arab Emirates (1.8), Zambia (2).

Across all 216 countries the median is 8.6 % of population and the simple (unweighted) average is 10.8; the spread from 1.7 to 36 shows how differently countries fare on this measure.

Over roughly the last decade the biggest increases were in Saint Martin (+12.6 pts), Hong Kong (+8.3 pts), South Korea (+7.4 pts), while the largest decreases were in Malawi (-0.5 pts), Mauritania (-0.3 pts), Mali (-0.3 pts).

By continent, the leaders are Japan in Asia (30), Monaco in Europe (36), Mauritius in Africa (14.1), Puerto Rico in North America (25.3), Uruguay in South America (16.3), Australia in Oceania (18.1).

The share of people aged 65 and over is the standard measure of population ageing. It rises as fertility falls and life expectancy increases; Japan, Italy and Portugal lead, while most of sub-Saharan Africa is below 4%.

Source: World Bank Open Data (indicator SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS). Countries without a published value are not ranked. Each country's own page shows the full historical series and its rank on this and every other indicator.