Demographics • analytical dashboard
Regional Demographics
Demographics is the slow, near-certain signal under the faster trade and energy noise: the working-age supply of 2050 is mostly already born. The map shows median age worldwide; pick a region or bloc below to see how its countries split between those ageing fast, where fertility is already below replacement, and those still holding an open demographic dividend.
Coverage: 175 countries worldwide; the breakdowns below focus on ASEAN. Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024, Medium variant. Estimates through 2024; later years projected. Updated 2026-06-07. Methodology.
Countries
11
ASEAN
Combined population
695M
2024, mid-year
Median age span
21.3–40.1
Timor-Leste → Thailand
Below replacement
6/11
fertility under 2.1
Lowest fertility
0.95
Singapore
Steepest ageing
Thailand
old-age dep 22 → 50.2 by 2050
Global median age, all 175 countries. Faint lines outline geographic regions; the selected group (ASEAN) is outlined in bold white and the map zooms to it. Click any country for detail.
ASEAN: the demographic split
Fertility sorts the region. 6 of 11 countries sit below the 2.1 replacement rate, where ageing is largely locked in: the parents of the next generation are already here, and there are too few of them. The other 5 remain above replacement, with a working-age share still climbing — opposite labour-supply futures inside one region, and that gap is the planning signal.
Steepest shift: Thailand.
Thailand's old-age dependency more than doubles from 22 today to 50.2 by 2050, and its population peaks around 2024. For sourcing and transaction risk, the question is where working-age supply still grows, and for how long.
Below replacement — ageing locked in
Fertility under 2.1. Sorted oldest first. Line: median age 1990–2050 (dashed = projected).
Thailand
Fertility 1.2 · 71.7M
Median age
40.1 → 48.6 (2050)
Old-age dependency
22 → 50.2
Singapore
Fertility 0.95 · 5.83M
Median age
35.7 → 50.9 (2050)
Old-age dependency
18.3 → 41.7
Vietnam
Fertility 1.9 · 101M
Median age
32.9 → 40.2 (2050)
Old-age dependency
13.4 → 31.7
Brunei
Fertility 1.73 · 0.46M
Median age
32.2 → 41.3 (2050)
Old-age dependency
9.5 → 29.7
Malaysia
Fertility 1.54 · 35.6M
Median age
30.5 → 40.1 (2050)
Old-age dependency
11 → 25.1
Philippines
Fertility 1.89 · 116M
Median age
25.7 → 35.9 (2050)
Old-age dependency
8.2 → 16.1
Dividend window — still young
Fertility at or above 2.1. Sorted youngest first. Window stays open into the 2030s–2040s.
Timor-Leste
Fertility 2.63 · 1.4M
Median age
21.3 → 31.2 (2050)
Old-age dependency
8.6 → 10
Laos
Fertility 2.4 · 7.77M
Median age
24.6 → 33 (2050)
Old-age dependency
7.2 → 14.4
Cambodia
Fertility 2.55 · 17.6M
Median age
26 → 32.2 (2050)
Old-age dependency
9.6 → 17.7
Myanmar
Fertility 2.1 · 54.5M
Median age
29.8 → 36.3 (2050)
Old-age dependency
10.7 → 20.1
Indonesia
Fertility 2.11 · 284M
Median age
30.1 → 36.8 (2050)
Old-age dependency
10.7 → 23.1
The shape of the divergence
A population pyramid plots each five-year age band by sex, men on the left, women on the right. The shape is the story: a wide base tapering up is a young, growing country; straight sides are stability; a pinched base under a heavy middle is ageing. Sorted youngest to oldest, ASEAN morphs from pyramid to urn across the region.
Timor-Leste
median 21.3
Laos
median 24.6
Philippines
median 25.7
Cambodia
median 26
Myanmar
median 29.8
Indonesia
median 30.1
Malaysia
median 30.5
Brunei
median 32.2
Vietnam
median 32.9
Singapore
median 35.7
Thailand
median 40.1
Explore one country
Age-sex structure, 2024. Bars morph when you switch year.
Population to 2100, millions. Amber line is the medium projection; the shaded band is the UN Low–High range (fertility about ±0.5 child). Median age in 2050 spans 45.7–51.5.
All indicators
Click a column to sort. Arrows show 2024 → 2050 (medium variant).
| Country | Median age ▼ | 2050 | Working-age % | Old-age dep | 2050 | Fertility | Growth % | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 40.1 | 48.6 | 69.9 | 22 | 50.2 | 1.2 | -0.06 | 71.7M |
| Singapore | 35.7 | 50.9 | 74.7 | 18.3 | 41.7 | 0.95 | 0.68 | 5.83M |
| Vietnam | 32.9 | 40.2 | 67.7 | 13.4 | 31.7 | 1.9 | 0.62 | 101M |
| Brunei | 32.2 | 41.3 | 72.3 | 9.5 | 29.7 | 1.73 | 0.8 | 0.46M |
| Malaysia | 30.5 | 40.1 | 70.5 | 11 | 25.1 | 1.54 | 1.2 | 35.6M |
| Indonesia | 30.1 | 36.8 | 68.1 | 10.7 | 23.1 | 2.11 | 0.8 | 284M |
| Myanmar | 29.8 | 36.3 | 68.4 | 10.7 | 20.1 | 2.1 | 0.66 | 54.5M |
| Cambodia | 26 | 32.2 | 64 | 9.6 | 17.7 | 2.55 | 1.2 | 17.6M |
| Philippines | 25.7 | 35.9 | 66.6 | 8.2 | 16.1 | 1.89 | 0.82 | 116M |
| Laos | 24.6 | 33 | 65.1 | 7.2 | 14.4 | 2.4 | 1.34 | 7.77M |
| Timor-Leste | 21.3 | 31.2 | 61.1 | 8.6 | 10 | 2.63 | 1.27 | 1.4M |
Old-age dependency = people aged 65+ per 100 aged 15–64. Fertility = births per woman over a lifetime (total fertility rate); 2.1 is replacement. Median age in years. Growth = annual population change, %. Population is mid-year, de-facto.
The closing window
Old-age dependency in 2024 (amber tick) versus 2050 (bar). The longer the bar runs past its tick, the faster the ageing burden lands. Sorted by 2050 level.
Scale 0–55 dependents per 100 working-age. Medium-variant projection.
Beyond the medium line
Projections are scenarios, not forecasts. These views lean into the forward, more speculative end of the data: where populations peak and turn down, where the workforce keeps growing, and how wide the range gets.
Growth, then decline
Population change 2024 → 2050, and the year each population peaks. Several members shrink within a generation; the dividend economies keep growing.
Where the workforce grows
Working-age population (15–64) indexed to 2024 = 100. Red = below replacement (shrinking labour supply); green = dividend window. The two paths fan apart.
Per-country Low–High projection ranges are in the explorer above.
Housing demand pressure
Housing demand is age-structured: households form and buy in a narrow band, roughly 25 to 44. The size of that prime cohort in ASEAN moves unevenly to 2050, a demand-side signal that runs ahead of price. Switch the map above to Housing demand to see it worldwide.
Change in the population aged 25–44 (household-formation years), 2024 → 2050; green grows, amber shrinks. The 70+ figure is the parallel rise in the aged-care and eventual stock-release cohort, which at least doubles almost everywhere. A demand-side proxy from age structure only; it excludes internal migration to cities, mortgage credit, and housing supply.
Methodology and sources
Source. All figures from the UN World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, published by the UN Population Division. Three standard files: Demographic Indicators, Medium variant (median age, fertility, growth, population, life expectancy); Population by 5-year age group and sex (working-age share, dependency ratios, and the age-sex pyramid); and the OtherVariants file for the Low and High projection scenarios. Each record is ISO3-keyed to the site's canonical country registry.
Estimates vs projections. Values through 2024 are UN estimates; 2025 onward are medium-variant projections, which assume central paths for fertility, mortality and migration. Projections are inference, not measurement; treat the 2050 figures as a central scenario, not a forecast.
Projection variants. Low/High are the UN deterministic variants (total fertility about half a child below/above the medium path); the gap between them is the population uncertainty band. The population fan widens accordingly: by 2100 the Low and High paths can differ by close to a factor of two, which is the honest measure of how little the deep future is settled.
Definitions. Working-age share is the population aged 15–64 as a percent of the total. Old-age dependency is people 65+ per 100 aged 15–64; youth dependency is the under-15s on the same base. Median age splits the population into two equal halves. Total fertility rate (TFR) is births per woman at current age-specific rates; about 2.1 is replacement. Peak year is the year of maximum population over 2024–2100 under the medium variant. Prime home-buyer change is the percent change in the population aged 25–44, the household-formation years, from 2024 to 2050, a demand-side proxy that excludes migration, credit and supply.
Singapore. WPP reports the de-facto total population, including roughly 1.5M non-resident workers who skew young, so its median age (35.7) sits below the resident-only figure (~42.8, SingStat). The same de-facto basis applies to all countries for consistency.
Scope. The map and data cover 175countries worldwide; the detailed breakdowns on this page focus on ASEAN (Timor-Leste joined as the 11th member in 2025), with a region selector planned. Reviewed annual (on new WPP revision).
Region borders. The white outlines on the map are geographic regions, dissolved from member-country polygons (UN/Natural Earth). They are groupings for navigation, not statements about disputed boundaries.