World population by age and region 2021

Globally, about 26 percent of the world is under 15 years of age and 10 percent is over 65 years of age. Africa has the youngest population worldwide. On the continent, 40 percent of the population are below 15 years, and less than five percent are above 65, indicating the low life expectancy in several of the countries. In Europe, on the other hand, a higher share of the population is above 65 years than the population under 15 years.

Fertility rates

The high share of children and youth in Africa is underlined by the high fertility rates on the continent. For instance, South Sudan and Burundi have some of the highest population growth rates globally, reaching around five percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. However, about 50 percent of the world’s population live in countries with low fertility, where women have less than 2.1 children. Countries in Europe, like Latvia and Lithuania have experienced a population decline of one percent, and in the Cook Islands and American Samoa, it is even above two percent. In Europe, the majority of the population was previously working-aged adults with few dependents, but this trend is expected to reverse soon and it is predicted that by 2050, the older population will outnumber the young in many developed countries.

Growing global population

As of 2022, there are 7.9 billion people living on the planet, and this is expected to reach more than eight billions before 2025. Moreover, the global population is expected to reach 10 billions around 2060, before slowing and then even falling slightly by 2100. As the population growth rates indicate, a significant share of the population increase will happen in Africa.