Which has higher median age, Ecuador or South Africa?

Ecuador, at 28.41 years against 28.21 years in South Africa as of 2023.

How many years of comparable data are there for Ecuador and South Africa?

74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Median age. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Ecuador vs South Africa: Median age

Ecuador

28.41 years

in 2023

South Africa

28.21 years

in 2023

Ecuador rank

141st

South Africa rank

143rd

Median age over time

Ecuador
South Africa

How they compare

Ecuador currently reports 28.41 years against 28.21 years in South Africa, a difference of 0.2 years.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Africa ahead.

Ecuador ranks 141st and South Africa ranks 143rd of 236 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Ecuador averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Ecuador	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1950s	18.03 years	18.63 years	0.6012 years	South Africa
1960s	16.69 years	17.8 years	1.1 years	South Africa
1970s	16.9 years	17.88 years	0.9867 years	South Africa
1980s	18.15 years	19.22 years	1.08 years	South Africa
1990s	20.05 years	20.47 years	0.4225 years	South Africa
2000s	22.27 years	22.03 years	0.2404 years	Ecuador
2010s	25.24 years	25.21 years	0.0293 years	Ecuador
2020s	27.8 years	27.75 years	0.043 years	Ecuador

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher median age, Ecuador or South Africa?: Ecuador, at 28.41 years against 28.21 years in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in median age between Ecuador and South Africa?: 0.2 years, with Ecuador ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Ecuador and South Africa?: 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do Ecuador and South Africa rank globally for median age?: Ecuador ranks 141st and South Africa ranks 143rd of 236 countries.
Where does this data come from?: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Median age. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

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.