At 18.8, Africa’s median age is by far the youngest in the world, 12.2 years younger than Latin America and the Caribbean, the region with the second lowest median age. This will remain the case in 2100, when Africa’s median age is set to reach 35 years, against 44-50 in other world regions. Africa currently is the region with the second largest share of youth in the world (20.3%), surpassed only by Asia (59.4%). Africa currently accounts for over 15% of the global workforce, far behind Asia (60.8%). But with over 20% of the world’s youth population, Africa’s share of the global work force is only going to increase. Africa’s dependency ratio has been declining steadily in recent years.
In 2020, Africa was the region with the highest total dependency ratio. However, 88% of the support burden came from children. In Europe, the dependency ratio is largely due to older people. By 2055 Europe will have the largest dependency ratio, with 78.2 dependants per 100 working age people. Meanwhile, Africa will have the lightest dependency ratio, with 58.9 dependants per 100 working age people.