What is median age in South Africa?

Median age in South Africa was 28.21 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest median age recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 28.21 years in 2023.

What is the lowest median age recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 17.71 years in 1971.

How does South Africa rank for median age?

South Africa ranks 143rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is median age rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa 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 South Africa

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

South Africa: Median age was 28.21 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

28.21 years

Change on year

up 1.1%

World rank

143rd

of 236 countries

All-time high

28.21 years

in 2023

All-time low

17.71 years

in 1971

Years of data

1950–2023

Median age in South Africa, 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 South Africa is 28.21 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 14.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in South Africa peaked at 28.21 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 17.71 years, in 1971.

South Africa ranks 143rd of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	18.63 years	18.02 years	19.21 years	10
1960s	17.8 years	17.73 years	17.93 years	10
1970s	17.88 years	17.71 years	18.21 years	10
1980s	19.22 years	18.37 years	20.02 years	10
1990s	20.47 years	20.11 years	20.94 years	10
2000s	22.03 years	20.8 years	23.31 years	10
2010s	25.21 years	23.64 years	26.87 years	10
2020s	27.75 years	27.27 years	28.21 years	4

Countries ranked near South Africa

140 American Samoa 28.43 years compare
141 Ecuador 28.41 years compare
142 Lebanon 28.32 years compare
144 Algeria 28.19 years compare
145 Suriname 28.1 years compare
146 India 28.06 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

Number of child deaths per woman 0.0792 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 2.22 live births per woman (2023)
Fertility rate: births per woman 2.22 live births per woman (2023)
Fertility rate: births per woman 2.22 live births per woman (2023)
Human Development Index 0.741 (2023)
Rule of Law - Governance estimate 0.0177 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Rule of Law - Governance score 57.27 0-100 (2024)
Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate 0.6073 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Voice and Accountability - Governance score 67.48 0-100 (2024)
Political Stability - Governance score 55.35 0-100 (2024)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in South Africa?: Median age in South Africa was 28.21 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 28.21 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 17.71 years in 1971.
How does South Africa rank for median age?: South Africa ranks 143rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa 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.