Country rankings · Population

Which countries have the largest share of children?

Central African Republic (49.00 % of population aged 0–14), Niger (46.60 % of population aged 0–14), and Somalia (46.59 % of population aged 0–14) lead this 2024 comparison among countries with existing GooferPlaces guides.

2024 observations · Retrieved 2026-10-18 · 194 of 197 guide countries · 99.5% of World Bank world population in 2024 represented.

Full country ranking

Value: % of population aged 0–14. The table is shown in its published rank order. Rank always refers to the published highest-first order; exact source ties share a rank.

Which countries have the largest share of children? — 2024 observations
RankCountry% of population aged 0–14Year
1Central African Republic49.002024
2Niger46.602024
3Somalia46.592024
4Mali46.142024
5Chad46.062024
6Congo - Kinshasa46.032024
7Burundi44.702024
8Mozambique44.482024
9Angola44.352024
10Uganda43.542024
11Afghanistan42.892024
12Mauritania42.712024
13Tanzania42.542024
14Burkina Faso41.802024
15Benin41.552024
16Zambia41.462024
17Cameroon41.442024
18Yemen41.132024
19Nigeria41.012024
20Guinea40.902024
21Zimbabwe40.872024
22Côte d’Ivoire40.872024
23Togo40.812024
24Malawi40.712024
25Sudan40.472024
26Congo - Brazzaville40.452024
27Gambia40.252024
28Liberia39.532024
29Madagascar39.262024
30Ethiopia39.062024
31South Sudan38.922024
32Guinea-Bissau38.792024
33Samoa38.462024
34Vanuatu38.312024
35Senegal38.182024
36Eritrea38.142024
37Sierra Leone38.092024
38Palestinian Territories38.052024
39São Tomé & Príncipe37.832024
40Nauru37.782024
41Rwanda37.362024
42Equatorial Guinea37.292024
43Comoros37.122024
44Namibia36.982024
45Solomon Islands36.972024
46Kenya36.842024
47Pakistan36.682024
48Iraq36.582024
49Gabon36.482024
50Tajikistan36.262024
51Ghana35.822024
52Tonga35.402024
53Kiribati34.692024
54Lesotho34.522024
55Marshall Islands34.472024
56Timor-Leste33.662024
57Papua New Guinea33.482024
58Eswatini33.352024
59Tuvalu32.952024
60Kyrgyzstan32.342024
61Mongolia32.192024
62Botswana32.132024
63Egypt31.992024
64Micronesia31.852024
65Guatemala31.582024
66Turkmenistan31.512024
67Haiti31.192024
68Uzbekistan31.102024
69Jordan30.672024
70Honduras30.622024
71Algeria30.332024
72Laos30.202024
73Cambodia29.792024
74Bolivia29.792024
75Kazakhstan29.372024
76Djibouti29.172024
77Syria29.162024
78Guyana29.162024
79Nicaragua28.762024
80Paraguay28.592024
81Nepal28.432024
82Bangladesh27.992024
83Philippines27.872024
84Libya27.412024
85Israel27.412024
86Fiji27.092024
87Dominican Republic26.582024
88Belize26.582024
89Lebanon26.192024
90South Africa25.882024
91Suriname25.642024
92Morocco25.632024
93Cape Verde25.552024
94Venezuela25.532024
95Panama24.892024
96El Salvador24.812024
97Oman24.712024
98India24.622024
99Indonesia24.602024
100Mexico24.512024
101Ecuador24.462024
102Myanmar (Burma)24.302024
103Tunisia24.042024
104Peru23.972024
105Saudi Arabia23.822024
106Vietnam23.222024
107Iran22.442024
108Sri Lanka22.032024
109Azerbaijan21.812024
110Malaysia21.792024
111Argentina21.602024
112Türkiye21.452024
113St. Vincent & Grenadines21.292024
114Bhutan20.912024
115Brunei20.832024
116Georgia20.802024
117Colombia20.272024
118Seychelles19.952024
119Moldova19.792024
120Brazil19.672024
121Maldives19.592024
122Grenada19.442024
123Armenia19.242024
124North Korea18.952024
125Costa Rica18.802024
126Bahrain18.722024
127Jamaica18.702024
128Ireland18.562024
129Uruguay18.292024
130Palau18.242024
131Kuwait18.222024
132St. Kitts & Nevis18.192024
133Montenegro18.132024
134New Zealand18.122024
135Bahamas17.912024
136Dominica17.872024
137Australia17.842024
138Antigua & Barbuda17.802024
139Iceland17.762024
140Trinidad & Tobago17.762024
141St. Lucia17.542024
142United States17.322024
143Russia17.282024
144Barbados17.242024
145United Kingdom17.192024
146Sweden16.992024
147Chile16.972024
148Albania16.842024
149North Macedonia16.822024
150France16.512024
151Belarus16.302024
152Norway16.192024
153United Arab Emirates16.112024
154Cyprus16.072024
155China16.012024
156Belgium16.002024
157Luxembourg15.782024
158Slovakia15.762024
159Romania15.722024
160Denmark15.702024
161Estonia15.642024
162Latvia15.412024
163Czechia15.402024
164Cuba15.292024
165Canada15.112024
166Qatar15.072024
167Netherlands15.032024
168Switzerland14.952024
169Mauritius14.812024
170Poland14.812024
171Thailand14.752024
172Slovenia14.712024
173Lithuania14.712024
174Finland14.632024
175Bulgaria14.472024
176Hungary14.402024
177Serbia14.312024
178Liechtenstein14.262024
179Austria14.232024
180Croatia13.922024
181Germany13.912024
182Ukraine13.892024
183Monaco13.472024
184Greece13.222024
185Bosnia & Herzegovina13.042024
186Malta13.032024
187Spain12.922024
188Portugal12.802024
189San Marino12.262024
190Italy11.892024
191Andorra11.892024
192Singapore11.692024
193Japan11.442024
194South Korea10.572024

What the data means

27 covered countries have at least 40% of residents aged 0–14. The share describes age structure rather than the current birth rate; past fertility and migration also shape it. A youthful population does not establish the quality or availability of schools.

Methodology, source and licence

One common observation year (2024) across all entries. Starting at 2024, choose the newest common year with at least 10 existing country guides and at least 70% of world population represented. Regional aggregates and places without an existing country guide or same-year population are excluded; missing observations are never estimated. Rates, percentages and values already expressed per person are not divided by population again. Exact source ties share a rank; country names break ties in display order. The 2026 label is the publication edition, not the observation year.

Source definition: Population between the ages 0 to 14 as a percentage of the total population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population.

Original providers: United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects., United Nations Population Division, uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: United Nations Population Division

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators — SP.POP.0014.TO.ZS. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-18. GooferPlaces selected eligible countries, sorted observations, rounded display values and, where stated, calculated population-normalised values. The source organisations do not endorse these rankings.

Download the observations and methodology (JSON). The dated source snapshot is retained as data/rankings/world-bank-wdi/2026-10-18.json. The country universe comprises the 197 existing country guides; territories without a guide and regional aggregates are excluded. Population coverage uses the World Bank world aggregate for the observation year, including places not listed in the table.

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