What is median age in Zambia?

Median age in Zambia was 17.49 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest median age recorded in Zambia?

The highest recorded value was 17.49 years in 2023.

What is the lowest median age recorded in Zambia?

The lowest recorded value was 14.22 years in 1980.

How does Zambia rank for median age?

Zambia ranks 221st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is median age rising or falling in Zambia?

Over the last ten years it is up 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Where does this Zambia 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 Zambia

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

Zambia: Median age was 17.49 years in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

17.49 years

Change on year

up 1.2%

World rank

221st

of 236 countries

All-time high

17.49 years

in 2023

All-time low

14.22 years

in 1980

Years of data

1950–2023

Median age in Zambia, 1950–2023

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

Analysis

Zambia recorded 17.49 years for median age in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 10.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in Zambia peaked at 17.49 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.22 years, in 1980.

That places Zambia 221st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	16.23 years	15.96 years	16.43 years	10
1960s	15.54 years	15.26 years	15.88 years	10
1970s	14.61 years	14.23 years	15.15 years	10
1980s	14.41 years	14.22 years	14.61 years	10
1990s	14.71 years	14.64 years	14.76 years	10
2000s	15.17 years	14.8 years	15.54 years	10
2010s	16.11 years	15.62 years	16.76 years	10
2020s	17.21 years	16.94 years	17.49 years	4

Countries ranked near Zambia

218 Nigeria 17.75 years compare
219 Cameroon 17.75 years compare
220 Malawi 17.58 years compare
222 Burkina Faso 17.25 years compare
223 Tanzania 17.24 years compare
224 Mauritania 17.12 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

Number of child deaths per woman 0.2201 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
Fertility rate: births per woman 4.1 live births per woman (2023)
Fertility rate: births per woman 4.1 live births per woman (2023)
Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 4.1 live births per woman (2023)
Human Development Index 0.595 (2023)
Rule of Law - Governance estimate -0.5612 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Rule of Law - Governance score 47.31 0-100 (2024)
Voice and Accountability - Governance score 49.72 0-100 (2024)
Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate -0.4076 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Political Stability - Governance score 64.17 0-100 (2024)

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in Zambia?: Median age in Zambia was 17.49 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in Zambia?: The highest recorded value was 17.49 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in Zambia?: The lowest recorded value was 14.22 years in 1980.
How does Zambia rank for median age?: Zambia ranks 221st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in Zambia?: Over the last ten years it is up 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Zambia 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.