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MacroSnaps23 August 2026
No. 43

The typical person in Japan is 49. The typical Nigerian is 17.

Japan
49
Germany
46
China
40
US
38
India
28
Nigeria
17

Median age, selected countries. Years.

Why this is happening
  • The rich world had fewer children decades ago and now lives longer, so its people are old and getting older.
  • Much of Africa and South Asia still has high birth rates, so half the population is barely out of school.
  • These ages are already locked in: the workers and retirees of 2050 are alive today.
The take

Demographics is destiny on a thirty-year delay. The old countries will fight over too few workers; the young ones must create hundreds of millions of jobs, or watch their people leave to find them.

Source: United Nations (2026)
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The underlying data

MacroSnaps drew this chart. The numbers in it are published by United Nations (2026). Their terms, not ours, govern the underlying data.