World data · 194 countries · updated October 2026

Under-15 population by country

The percentage of each country's population under 15 years old, ranked — the standard demographic measure of how young a country is.

The short answer

Central African Republic leads the 194 countries ranked here on under-15 population share at 49%, followed by Somalia at 47% and Mali at 46%. The median country is El Salvador at 24%, against a world average of 25%.

#1 49% Central African Republic Sub-Saharan Africa #2 47% Somalia Sub-Saharan Africa #3 46% Mali Sub-Saharan Africa Median 24% El Salvador The middle of 194

World 25% World average Population-weighted

What this measures

The share of the total population aged 0–14, from World Bank Open Data.

What it does not

It mixes Generation Alpha and Generation Beta, since the under-15 window currently spans both cohorts.

The bottom of the table

Puerto Rico 11%

South Korea 11%

Japan 11%

San Marino 12%

Andorra 12%

Bars are scaled across the full observed range (11% to 49%), not to 100%, so the real spread is visible.

How the values are spread

Where the 194 countries fall

The range from 11% to 49% is split into 10 equal bands, and each bar counts the countries in one band.

Number of countries in each band of under-15 population share
Band	Countries	Including
11.0% to 14.8%	24	Germany, Spain, Hungary and 21 more
14.8% to 18.6%	52	Kuwait, Bahrain, Australia and 49 more
18.6% to 22.4%	17	Turkey, Sri Lanka, Colombia and 14 more
22.4% to 26.2%	23	Lebanon, Venezuela, Ecuador and 20 more
26.2% to 30.0%	12	Djibouti, Philippines, Kazakhstan and 9 more
30.0% to 33.8%	15	Eswatini, Egypt, Timor-Leste and 12 more
33.8% to 37.6%	17	Ethiopia, Rwanda, Namibia and 14 more
37.6% to 41.4%	23	Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and 20 more
41.4% to 45.2%	7	DR Congo, Uganda, Angola and 4 more
45.2% to 49.0%	4	Central African Republic, Somalia, Mali and 1 more

How this is built: each band is one tenth of the gap between the lowest and highest value; a country is counted in the band its value falls in, and the top band includes the highest value. Countries with no comparable figure are left out. Chart drawn with Apache ECharts.

The full ranking

All 194 countries

Click any column heading to re-sort. Type to filter, or pick a region. Every country name links to its full profile.

194 countries shown

Under-15 population by country, ranked. Column headings re-sort the table.
Rank	Country	Under-15 population share	Region	Gen Alpha
#1	Central African Republic	49%	Sub-Saharan Africa	3m
#2	Somalia	47%	Sub-Saharan Africa	10m
#3	Mali	46%	Sub-Saharan Africa	12m
#4	Chad	46%	Sub-Saharan Africa	10m
#5	DR Congo	45%	Sub-Saharan Africa	44m
#6	Uganda	44%	Sub-Saharan Africa	20m
#7	Angola	44%	Sub-Saharan Africa	15m
#8	Mozambique	43%	Sub-Saharan Africa	14m
#9	Tanzania	42%	Sub-Saharan Africa	28m
#10	Mauritania	42%	Sub-Saharan Africa	2m
#11	Afghanistan	42%	Middle East & North Africa	17m
#12	Nigeria	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	95m
#13	Côte d'Ivoire	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	12m
#14	Cameroon	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	12m
#15	Burkina Faso	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	10m
#16	Zambia	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	9m
#17	Senegal	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	7m
#18	Guinea	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	6m
#19	Benin	41%	Sub-Saharan Africa	6m
#20	Yemen	41%	Middle East & North Africa	18m
#21	Malawi	40%	Sub-Saharan Africa	9m
#22	Zimbabwe	40%	Sub-Saharan Africa	7m
#23	Togo	40%	Sub-Saharan Africa	4m
#24	Republic of the Congo	40%	Sub-Saharan Africa	3m
#25	Gambia	40%	Sub-Saharan Africa	1m
#26	Sudan	39%	Sub-Saharan Africa	19m
#27	Madagascar	39%	Sub-Saharan Africa	13m
#28	Liberia	39%	Sub-Saharan Africa	2m
#29	South Sudan	38%	Sub-Saharan Africa	5m
#30	Sierra Leone	38%	Sub-Saharan Africa	3m
#31	Eritrea	38%	Sub-Saharan Africa	1m
#32	Guinea-Bissau	38%	Sub-Saharan Africa	881k
#33	Palestine	38%	Middle East & North Africa	2m
#34	Samoa	38%	Oceania	84k
#35	Ethiopia	37%	Sub-Saharan Africa	48m
#36	Rwanda	37%	Sub-Saharan Africa	6m
#37	Namibia	37%	Sub-Saharan Africa	1m
#38	Equatorial Guinea	37%	Sub-Saharan Africa	736k
#39	Comoros	37%	Sub-Saharan Africa	331k
#40	São Tomé and Príncipe	37%	Sub-Saharan Africa	92k
#41	Iraq	37%	Middle East & North Africa	16m
#42	Nauru	37%	Oceania	5k
#43	Kenya	36%	Sub-Saharan Africa	19m
#44	Ghana	36%	Sub-Saharan Africa	12m
#45	Gabon	36%	Sub-Saharan Africa	959k
#46	Tajikistan	36%	Europe & Central Asia	4m
#47	Pakistan	35%	South Asia	80m
#48	Tonga	35%	Oceania	36k
#49	Lesotho	34%	Sub-Saharan Africa	815k
#50	Kiribati	34%	Oceania	48k
#51	Marshall Islands	34%	Oceania	12k
#52	Eswatini	33%	Sub-Saharan Africa	419k
#53	Egypt	33%	Middle East & North Africa	34m
#54	Timor-Leste	33%	East Asia & Pacific	476k
#55	Tuvalu	33%	Oceania	3k
#56	Guatemala	33%	Latin America	6m
#57	Mongolia	32%	East Asia & Pacific	1m
#58	Kyrgyzstan	32%	Europe & Central Asia	2m
#59	Micronesia	31%	Oceania	36k
#60	Uzbekistan	31%	Europe & Central Asia	12m
#61	Turkmenistan	31%	Europe & Central Asia	2m
#62	Haiti	31%	Latin America	4m
#63	Algeria	30%	Middle East & North Africa	14m
#64	Jordan	30%	Middle East & North Africa	4m
#65	Laos	30%	East Asia & Pacific	2m
#66	Honduras	30%	Latin America	3m
#67	Djibouti	29%	Middle East & North Africa	345k
#68	Philippines	29%	East Asia & Pacific	32m
#69	Kazakhstan	29%	Europe & Central Asia	6m
#70	Bolivia	29%	Latin America	3m
#71	Guyana	29%	Latin America	243k
#72	South Africa	28%	Sub-Saharan Africa	17m
#73	Syria	28%	Middle East & North Africa	8m
#74	Nicaragua	28%	Latin America	2m
#75	Paraguay	28%	Latin America	2m
#76	Israel	27%	Middle East & North Africa	3m
#77	Libya	27%	Middle East & North Africa	2m
#78	Nepal	27%	South Asia	8m
#79	Lebanon	26%	Middle East & North Africa	2m
#80	Venezuela	26%	Latin America	7m
#81	Ecuador	26%	Latin America	4m
#82	Dominican Republic	26%	Latin America	3m
#83	Belize	26%	Latin America	113k
#84	Cape Verde	25%	Sub-Saharan Africa	131k
#85	Morocco	25%	Middle East & North Africa	10m
#86	Bangladesh	25%	South Asia	44m
#87	Myanmar	25%	East Asia & Pacific	13m
#88	Peru	25%	Latin America	8m
#89	Panama	25%	Latin America	1m
#90	Suriname	25%	Latin America	163k
#91	Saudi Arabia	24%	Middle East & North Africa	9m
#92	Tunisia	24%	Middle East & North Africa	3m
#93	Oman	24%	Middle East & North Africa	1m
#94	India	24%	South Asia	327m
#95	Indonesia	24%	East Asia & Pacific	68m
#96	Mexico	24%	North America	31m
#97	Argentina	24%	Latin America	11m
#98	El Salvador	24%	Latin America	2m
#99	Iran	23%	Middle East & North Africa	18m
#100	Vietnam	23%	East Asia & Pacific	23m
#101	Malaysia	23%	East Asia & Pacific	8m
#102	Turkey	22%	Middle East & North Africa	19m
#103	Sri Lanka	22%	South Asia	4m
#104	Colombia	22%	Latin America	11m
#105	Brunei	21%	East Asia & Pacific	97k
#106	Azerbaijan	21%	Europe & Central Asia	2m
#107	St Vincent and the Grenadines	21%	Latin America	21k
#108	Seychelles	20%	Sub-Saharan Africa	27k
#109	Ireland	20%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#110	Georgia	20%	Europe & Central Asia	780k
#111	Moldova	20%	Europe & Central Asia	578k
#112	Brazil	20%	Latin America	44m
#113	Maldives	19%	South Asia	101k
#114	North Korea	19%	East Asia & Pacific	5m
#115	New Zealand	19%	Oceania	1m
#116	Armenia	19%	Europe & Central Asia	557k
#117	Chile	19%	Latin America	4m
#118	Grenada	19%	Latin America	22k
#119	Kuwait	18%	Middle East & North Africa	917k
#120	Bahrain	18%	Middle East & North Africa	309k
#121	Australia	18%	Oceania	5m
#122	Palau	18%	Oceania	3k
#123	Russia	18%	Europe & Central Asia	26m
#124	Montenegro	18%	Europe & Central Asia	112k
#125	Iceland	18%	Europe & Central Asia	70k
#126	Gibraltar	18%	Europe & Central Asia	7k
#127	United States	18%	North America	62m
#128	Costa Rica	18%	Latin America	947k
#129	Uruguay	18%	Latin America	605k
#130	Jamaica	18%	Latin America	518k
#131	Bahamas	18%	Latin America	71k
#132	Dominica	18%	Latin America	12k
#133	St Kitts and Nevis	18%	Latin America	9k
#134	United Kingdom	17%	Europe & Central Asia	12m
#135	France	17%	Europe & Central Asia	12m
#136	Sweden	17%	Europe & Central Asia	2m
#137	Norway	17%	Europe & Central Asia	900k
#138	Albania	17%	Europe & Central Asia	457k
#139	North Macedonia	17%	Europe & Central Asia	298k
#140	Trinidad and Tobago	17%	Latin America	265k
#141	Barbados	17%	Latin America	48k
#142	St Lucia	17%	Latin America	31k
#143	Aruba	17%	Latin America	18k
#144	Antigua and Barbuda	17%	Latin America	17k
#145	United Arab Emirates	16%	Middle East & North Africa	2m
#146	China	16%	East Asia & Pacific	230m
#147	Thailand	16%	East Asia & Pacific	11m
#148	Romania	16%	Europe & Central Asia	3m
#149	Belgium	16%	Europe & Central Asia	2m
#150	Belarus	16%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#151	Denmark	16%	Europe & Central Asia	937k
#152	Slovakia	16%	Europe & Central Asia	849k
#153	Cyprus	16%	Europe & Central Asia	222k
#154	Luxembourg	16%	Europe & Central Asia	108k
#155	Canada	16%	North America	6m
#156	Cayman Islands	16%	Latin America	12k
#157	Turks and Caicos Islands	16%	Latin America	8k
#158	Mauritius	15%	Sub-Saharan Africa	184k
#159	Qatar	15%	Middle East & North Africa	476k
#160	Ukraine	15%	Europe & Central Asia	6m
#161	Poland	15%	Europe & Central Asia	6m
#162	Netherlands	15%	Europe & Central Asia	3m
#163	Czechia	15%	Europe & Central Asia	2m
#164	Switzerland	15%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#165	Lithuania	15%	Europe & Central Asia	406k
#166	Latvia	15%	Europe & Central Asia	279k
#167	Estonia	15%	Europe & Central Asia	203k
#168	Cuba	15%	Latin America	2m
#169	Curaçao	15%	Latin America	27k
#170	Sint Maarten	15%	Latin America	7k
#171	Germany	14%	Europe & Central Asia	12m
#172	Spain	14%	Europe & Central Asia	6m
#173	Hungary	14%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#174	Austria	14%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#175	Bulgaria	14%	Europe & Central Asia	960k
#176	Serbia	14%	Europe & Central Asia	947k
#177	Finland	14%	Europe & Central Asia	806k
#178	Croatia	14%	Europe & Central Asia	524k
#179	Slovenia	14%	Europe & Central Asia	306k
#180	Liechtenstein	14%	Europe & Central Asia	6k
#181	Monaco	14%	Europe & Central Asia	5k
#182	British Virgin Islands	14%	Latin America	6k
#183	Malta	13%	Middle East & North Africa	71k
#184	Portugal	13%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#185	Greece	13%	Europe & Central Asia	1m
#186	Bosnia and Herzegovina	13%	Europe & Central Asia	400k
#187	Bermuda	13%	North America	9k
#188	Singapore	12%	East Asia & Pacific	690k
#189	Italy	12%	Europe & Central Asia	7m
#190	Andorra	12%	Europe & Central Asia	10k
#191	San Marino	12%	Europe & Central Asia	4k
#192	Japan	11%	East Asia & Pacific	14m
#193	South Korea	11%	East Asia & Pacific	6m
#194	Puerto Rico	11%	Latin America	362k

Reading the table

The under-15 share is the single most useful number for understanding what a country has to build. It sets school demand, paediatric demand, housing demand and the shape of the labour force twenty years out, all at once.

DR Congo leads at 45%: close to half the country has not reached secondary school. South Korea and Japan sit at 11%, meaning one child for roughly every eight adults. Those two ends of the table are not on the same demographic timeline; they are barely on the same planet.

The interesting part is the middle. Indonesia, at 24%, sits almost exactly on the world average and is the closest thing this dataset has to a median country. If you want a single national case study that represents the global average childhood in 2026, it is a better choice than any of the countries that get written about.

Run the numbers yourself

Tools that use this data

Global Child Population Table

Where the world's children are, ranked by region, with the direction each one is…

→

School-Age Population Forecast

How many children will be of school age in any year, globally or nationally.

→

Frequently asked

Which country has the highest percentage of children?

The Central African Republic, where about 49% of the population is under 15 — the highest of the 194 countries profiled.

Which country has the fewest children proportionally?

Japan and South Korea, both at about 11% under 15.

What is the world average for the under-15 share?

About 25%, meaning roughly one person in four alive today is under 15.

Why does the under-15 share matter?

It drives school places, paediatric services, housing and the size of the workforce twenty years from now. It is the most forward-looking single number in demography.

How many countries are in this table?

This table ranks 194 countries with a comparable figure, out of the 194 countries profiled on AlphaBetaMinds. The countries in this table hold about 98% of the world population.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes, free of charge and commercially, with a credit to AlphaBetaMinds and a link to this page. The full dataset is also available as plain text at https://alphabetaminds.com/llms-countries.txt.

Other data tables

Generation Alpha population Generation Alpha share of population Projected Generation Beta births Total fertility rate Median age Births per day School starting age Compulsory years of schooling Secondary school completion Daily screen time, ages 8–12 Internet use Cost of raising a child to 18 Life expectancy at birth Urban population share Under-15 population change to 2040 Youth dependency ratio

Cite this table

AlphaBetaMinds (2026). Under-15 population by country. Retrieved from https://alphabetaminds.com/data/under-15-population-by-country

Download the full dataset (CSV)

Sources: UN World Population Prospects, World Bank Open Data, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ITU. Figures are 2025–2026 estimates. Method on our methodology page.