What is median age in Afghanistan?

Median age in Afghanistan was 16.94 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest median age recorded in Afghanistan?

The highest recorded value was 18.39 years in 1950.

What is the lowest median age recorded in Afghanistan?

The lowest recorded value was 13.9 years in 2002.

How does Afghanistan rank for median age?

Afghanistan ranks 225th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is median age rising or falling in Afghanistan?

Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Afghanistan data come from?

The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Median age in Afghanistan

Name: Median age in Afghanistan
Creator: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Afghanistan: Median age was 16.94 years in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

16.94 years

Change on year

up 1.1%

World rank

225th

of 236 countries

All-time high

18.39 years

in 1950

All-time low

13.9 years

in 2002

Years of data

1950–2023

Median age in Afghanistan, 1950–2023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for median age in Afghanistan is 16.94 years, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 12.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in Afghanistan peaked at 18.39 years in 1950 and was at its lowest, 13.9 years, in 2002.

Afghanistan ranks 225th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	18.2 years	17.95 years	18.39 years	10
1960s	17.53 years	17.11 years	17.86 years	10
1970s	16.43 years	15.94 years	16.97 years	10
1980s	15.4 years	15.06 years	15.82 years	10
1990s	14.58 years	14.08 years	15 years	10
2000s	14.06 years	13.9 years	14.45 years	10
2010s	15.41 years	14.61 years	16.23 years	10
2020s	16.67 years	16.41 years	16.94 years	4

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

222 Burkina Faso 17.25 years compare
223 Tanzania 17.24 years compare
224 Mauritania 17.12 years compare
226 Mayotte 16.79 years compare
227 Uganda 16.51 years compare
228 Angola 16.45 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

Number of child deaths per woman 0.1872 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 4.84 live births per woman (2023)
Fertility rate: births per woman 4.84 live births per woman (2023)
Fertility rate: births per woman 4.84 live births per woman (2023)
Human Development Index 0.496 (2023)
Rule of Law - Governance score 23.65 0-100 (2024)
Rule of Law - Governance estimate -1.94 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate -2.15 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Voice and Accountability - Governance score 19.25 0-100 (2024)
Political Stability - Governance score 28.23 0-100 (2024)

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in Afghanistan?: Median age in Afghanistan was 16.94 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in Afghanistan?: The highest recorded value was 18.39 years in 1950.
What is the lowest median age recorded in Afghanistan?: The lowest recorded value was 13.9 years in 2002.
How does Afghanistan rank for median age?: Afghanistan ranks 225th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in Afghanistan?: Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?: The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Median age
Unit: years
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

The age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.