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Birth year · Generation Alpha · 2010–2024

Born in 2020?
Generation Alpha.

The year that defines Generation Alpha whether they remember it or not. Babies born in 2020 spent their first year in a world of closed doors — and their older siblings lost a year of school.

The short answer

A baby born in 2020 is Generation Alpha, the cohort born 2010–2024. They turn 6 in 2026, and will be 18 in 2038. Roughly 135.2 million babies were born worldwide that year.

Generation
Generation Alpha
Cohort 2010–2024
Age in 2026
6
Turning 7 next birthday
Turns 18 in
2038
Voting age in most countries
Age in 2050
30
Alphas are 26–40, Betas 11–25
Babies born worldwide
135.2 million
UN World Population Prospects
Place in the cohort
Year 11 / 15
Of 15 years in Generation Alpha

What happened in 2020

  • UNESCO records around 1.6 billion learners out of school at the peak of closures.
  • Zoom goes from a business tool to the classroom, worldwide, in under a month.
  • Global births fall by roughly 2 million against 2019 — the sharpest one-year drop in decades.

Events are included where they plausibly shaped childhood for this cohort, not as a general history of the year.

Every milestone, dated

2024
Starts school (age 4, UK and Ireland)

Age 4 — already passed

2026
Starts school (age 6, most countries)

Age 6 — already passed

2027 · ahead
Starts school (age 7, Sweden, Poland, Indonesia)

Age 7

2033 · ahead
Turns 13

Age 13

2038 · ahead
Finishes high school in the US (class of, if born January–August)

Age 18

2038 · ahead
Turns 18 — voting age in most countries

Age 18

2041 · ahead
Turns 21

Age 21

2050 · ahead
Turns 30

Age 30

2070 · ahead
Turns 50

Age 50

The cohort this year belongs to

2010 — 2024

Generation Alpha

The cohort born between 2010 and 2024 — the first born entirely in the 21st century, and the first raised with touchscreens and algorithmic feeds from infancy.

  • Cohort size: ~2.0bn
  • Defining shift: The first generation born entirely in the 21st century
  • Aged 2–16 in 2026
NEIGHBOURING YEARS

One year either side

Cohort boundaries are hard lines drawn through a continuous thing. A child born a day before or after one of them lands in a different generation with an identical childhood.

Frequently asked

What generation is someone born in 2020?

They are Generation Alpha. The cohort runs from 2010 to 2024 under the McCrindle boundaries used throughout this site.

How old is someone born in 2020?

They turn 6 during 2026, depending on whether their birthday has passed.

How many babies were born in 2020?

About 135.2 million worldwide, according to UN World Population Prospects.

When will someone born in 2020 start school?

Between 2024 and 2027, depending on the country. The United Kingdom and Ireland start at four, most countries at six, and Sweden, Poland and Indonesia at seven.

When does someone born in 2020 turn 18?

In 2038.

What graduation year (class of) is someone born in 2020?

In most US states, class of 2038 if born January to August and class of 2039 if born September to December, because 1 September is the most common kindergarten cut-off. In England and Wales they take A-levels in the summer of 2038 (born January to August) or 2039 (born September to December).

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