Which has higher median age, India or South Africa?

South Africa, at 28.21 years against 28.06 years in India as of 2023.

What is the difference in median age between India and South Africa?

0.15 years, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for India 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.

India vs South Africa: Median age

India

28.06 years

in 2023

South Africa

28.21 years

in 2023

India rank

146th

South Africa rank

143rd

Median age over time

India
South Africa

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 28.21 years against 28.06 years in India, a difference of 0.15 years.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was India ahead.

India ranks 146th and South Africa ranks 143rd of 236 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	India	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1950s	19.73 years	18.63 years	1.1 years	India
1960s	18.58 years	17.8 years	0.7776 years	India
1970s	18.38 years	17.88 years	0.4981 years	India
1980s	19.23 years	19.22 years	0.0062 years	India
1990s	20.3 years	20.47 years	0.1764 years	South Africa
2000s	22.18 years	22.03 years	0.155 years	India
2010s	25.12 years	25.21 years	0.0922 years	South Africa
2020s	27.53 years	27.75 years	0.2235 years	South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher median age, India or South Africa?: South Africa, at 28.21 years against 28.06 years in India as of 2023.
What is the difference in median age between India and South Africa?: 0.15 years, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for India and South Africa?: 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do India and South Africa rank globally for median age?: India ranks 146th 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.