Population Under 15 by Country — 2024 World Rankings

The share of population under age 15 indicates the youth dependency ratio and demographic momentum of a country. Countries with high proportions of young people face different economic challenges than aging societies: they need to create jobs, build schools, and expand infrastructure to accommodate population growth. The data comes from the World Bank using UN Population Division estimates.

Sub-Saharan Africa has by far the youngest population globally, with many countries having 40–45% of their population under 15. Niger leads at roughly 50% — meaning half the country's population is a child. This "youth bulge" can be either a dividend or a disaster: if these young people receive adequate education and the economy creates enough jobs, the resulting demographic dividend can turbocharge growth (as happened in East Asia in the 1970s–1990s). If not, it creates mass youth unemployment, social unrest, and emigration pressure.

In contrast, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Germany have less than 13% of their population under 15 — a consequence of decades of below-replacement fertility. These societies face the opposite problem: shrinking school enrollments, contracting domestic consumer markets, and an aging workforce that must support a growing number of retirees. The transition from young to old is historically irreversible — no country that has reached below-replacement fertility has sustainably recovered to replacement level.