Population Aged 65 and Over by Country, 1960-2024

About This Dataset

Population Aged 65 and Over by Country, 1960-2024
The share of the population aged 65 and over for twelve large countries, at five-year steps from 1960 to 2020 plus the latest year, 2024. The underlying World Bank series is annual and complete for all twelve countries; five-year steps are used so that sixty-five years stay readable in a single chart.
✨ AI Insight

In 1960 Japan was younger than the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and the United States, at 5.7 percent. By 2024 it is the oldest country in the chart at 29.8 percent, a rise of 24.1 points that is the largest here. South Korea moved fastest in relative terms, from 3.1 percent to 19.3 percent, more than six times its 1960 level. Nigeria is the only one of the twelve that is not older in 2024 than in 1960, easing from 3.3 percent to 3.0 percent. The top spot changed hands four times over the period: the United Kingdom in 1960, Germany from 1965, the United Kingdom again from 1985, Italy from 1995, and Japan from 2005 onward.

Source:  World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS)

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

🏆
Japan leads with 30 in 2024.
📈
South Korea grew fastest: +522.6% from 1960 to 2024 (3.10 → 19.30).
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Nigeria declined most: -9.1% from 1960 to 2024 (3.30 → 3).
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Average value in 2024: 17  ·  median: 19.
📅
2024 recorded the highest combined total across all categories.
↔️
Gap in 2024: Japan is 9.9× larger than Nigeria.

Population Aged 65 and Over by Country, 1960-2024

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Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin
⬡
Data Points
168
12 categories  ·  14 years
↑
Top Value
29.80
Japan
Population aged 65+ (% of total) · 2024
◈
Metrics
1
Population aged 65+ (% of total)
◷
Period
1960 – 2024
14 years of data

Rankings & Full Data

168 records · Population aged 65+ (% of total) · ranked by 2024

✓ 168 sourced
# Category 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2024 Change CAGR / yr Source
🥇 Japan 5.70 6.30 7.10 7.90 9.10 10.40 12.20 14.70 17.40 20.30 23.10 26.90 28.90 29.80 +422.8% +2.6%
🥈 Italy 9.50 10.10 11.10 12.20 13.20 13.20 15 17 18.20 19.60 20.50 22 23.40 24.60 +158.9% +1.5%
🥉 Germany 11.50 12.50 13.70 14.80 15.60 14.50 14.90 15.40 16.50 18.90 20.60 21.10 21.80 23.20 +101.7% +1.1%
4 France 11.50 12.10 12.90 13.50 13.90 12.90 14 15.10 16 16.40 16.80 18.90 20.70 22.10 +92.2% +1%
5 United Kingdom 11.70 12.20 13.10 14.10 15 15.10 15.90 16 15.90 16 16.30 17.80 18.60 19.50 +66.7% +0.8%
6 South Korea 3.10 3.30 3.40 3.60 3.80 4.20 4.90 5.80 7.10 9 11 13 15.80 19.30 +522.6% +2.9%
7 United States 8.80 9.30 9.70 10.30 11.10 11.70 12.30 12.40 12.20 12.10 12.80 14.30 16.10 17.90 +103.4% +1.1%
8 Russia 6 6.60 7.70 8.90 10.20 9.60 10 11.90 12.30 13.70 12.70 13.50 15.50 17.20 +186.7% +1.7%
9 China 4 3.60 3.70 4 4.40 4.80 5.30 6.10 7 7.90 8.70 10.10 12.60 14.70 +267.5% +2.1%
10 Brazil 2.50 2.70 3 3.20 3.50 3.70 4.10 4.60 5.20 5.80 6.70 8 9.60 11 +340% +2.3%
11 India 3.30 3.60 3.70 3.80 3.90 4 4 4.20 4.40 4.70 4.90 5.50 6.40 7.10 +115.2% +1.2%
12 Nigeria 3.30 3.40 3.30 3.20 3.20 3.20 3.10 3.10 3 3 3 3 3 3 -9.1% -0.1%

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

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