Eswatini Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Eswatini vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Eswatini	World
1960	16.6	22.5
1961	16.4	22.5
1962	16.3	22.4
1963	16.1	22.2
1964	16.1	22
1965	16.1	21.8
1966	16.1	21.7
1967	16.1	21.6
1968	16.2	21.5
1969	16.2	21.5
1970	16.3	21.4
1971	16.3	21.4
1972	16.3	21.5
1973	16.2	21.5
1974	16.2	21.6
1975	16.1	21.7
1976	16	21.9
1977	15.9	22
1978	15.8	22.2
1979	15.7	22.3
1980	15.6	22.5
1981	15.5	22.6
1982	15.4	22.7
1983	15.3	22.9
1984	15.3	23
1985	15.2	23.2
1986	15.3	23.3
1987	15.3	23.4
1988	15.6	23.6
1989	15.9	23.8
1990	16.1	23.9
1991	16.3	24.1
1992	16.5	24.3
1993	16.7	24.5
1994	16.3	24.7
1995	16.1	25
1996	16.3	25.2
1997	16.6	25.4
1998	16.9	25.7
1999	17.3	25.9
2000	17.6	26.1
2001	17.8	26.3
2002	18.1	26.5
2003	18.3	26.7
2004	18.5	27
2005	18.6	27.2
2006	18.7	27.4
2007	18.9	27.6
2008	19.1	27.8
2009	19.4	28
2010	19.6	28.2
2011	19.9	28.4
2012	20.2	28.6
2013	20.5	28.9
2014	20.7	29.1
2015	21	29.3
2016	21.2	29.5
2017	21.5	29.8
2018	21.8	30
2019	22.1	30.3
2020	22.4	30.6
2021	22.6	30.8
2022	22.8	31
2023	23	31.3
2024	23.2	31.6
2025	23.5	31.9
2026	23.7	32.1
2027	23.9	32.3
2028	24.2	32.6
2029	24.4	32.8
2030	24.7	33
2031	25	33.2
2032	25.2	33.4
2033	25.5	33.6
2034	25.8	33.8
2035	26.1	34
2036	26.3	34.2
2037	26.6	34.4
2038	26.9	34.6
2039	27.2	34.8
2040	27.5	35
2041	27.8	35.2
2042	28	35.4
2043	28.3	35.6
2044	28.6	35.8
2045	28.9	36
2046	29.2	36.2
2047	29.5	36.4
2048	29.8	36.6
2049	30.1	36.8
2050	30.4	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Eswatini was 16.6 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 23.2 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 182nd for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Eswatini ranks 141st currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Eswatini is expected to increase to around 30.4 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Eswatini demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Eswatini
	Male	Female
0-4	5.75%	5.63%
5-9	5.59%	5.53%
10-14	5.43%	5.42%
15-19	5.2%	5.21%
20-24	4.87%	4.75%
25-29	4.38%	4.27%
30-34	3.94%	4.04%
35-39	3.56%	3.63%
40-44	2.95%	3%
45-49	2.16%	2.22%
50-54	1.48%	1.73%
55-59	1.22%	1.61%
60-64	0.88%	1.29%
65-69	0.72%	1.04%
70-74	0.48%	0.69%
75-79	0.28%	0.47%
80+	0.21%	0.37%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Eswatini has average demographic potential with 70% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 51/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Eswatini			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	99.2%	93.4%	5.78%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	100.4%	94.5%	5.83%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	101.4%	95.6%	5.88%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	102.4%	96.5%	5.91%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	102.9%	96.9%	5.93%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	102.6%	96.7%	5.91%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	102.3%	96.4%	5.89%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	101.7%	95.8%	5.88%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	101%	95.1%	5.88%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	100.6%	94.7%	5.9%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	100.5%	94.6%	5.92%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	100.6%	94.7%	5.94%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	100.9%	95%	5.97%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	101.4%	95.4%	6%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	102%	96%	6.03%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	102.7%	96.6%	6.05%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	103.5%	97.4%	6.07%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	104.3%	98.2%	6.08%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	105.2%	99.1%	6.09%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	106%	100%	6.08%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	106.9%	100.8%	6.08%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	107.8%	101.7%	6.07%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	108.6%	102.5%	6.06%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	109.2%	103.2%	6.02%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	109.5%	103.6%	5.98%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	109.6%	103.7%	5.9%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	109.2%	103.4%	5.78%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	108.2%	102.6%	5.64%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	105.6%	100.1%	5.42%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	102.7%	97.5%	5.19%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	100.6%	95.6%	5.02%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	98.3%	93.4%	4.85%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	96.1%	91.4%	4.69%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	95%	90.4%	4.59%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	97.6%	92.9%	4.71%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	99.4%	94.6%	4.8%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	97.1%	92.4%	4.69%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	94.3%	89.7%	4.6%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	91.1%	86.6%	4.52%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	87.9%	83.5%	4.46%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	85.1%	80.7%	4.42%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	82.8%	78.4%	4.4%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	81%	76.5%	4.42%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	79.5%	75%	4.47%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	78.4%	73.9%	4.56%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	77.6%	72.9%	4.66%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	76.9%	72.1%	4.77%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	75.9%	71%	4.85%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	74.4%	69.5%	4.91%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	73%	68%	4.97%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	71.7%	66.6%	5.07%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	70.7%	65.5%	5.21%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	69.8%	64.5%	5.34%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	69%	63.6%	5.46%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	68.2%	62.6%	5.57%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	67.2%	61.5%	5.68%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	66.3%	60.5%	5.78%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	65.4%	59.5%	5.92%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	64.6%	58.5%	6.07%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	63.7%	57.5%	6.21%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	62.8%	56.5%	6.31%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	61.8%	55.5%	6.35%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	61.2%	54.7%	6.47%	54%	39%	15%
2023	60.8%	54.1%	6.67%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	60.3%	53.5%	6.83%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Eswatini decreased from 78.4% to 60.3% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Eswatini working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Eswatini	World
1960	50.2%	57.6%
1961	49.9%	57.5%
1962	49.6%	57.4%
1963	49.4%	57.2%
1964	49.3%	57%
1965	49.4%	56.9%
1966	49.4%	56.8%
1967	49.6%	56.9%
1968	49.8%	56.9%
1969	49.8%	56.9%
1970	49.9%	57%
1971	49.8%	57.1%
1972	49.8%	57.2%
1973	49.7%	57.3%
1974	49.5%	57.3%
1975	49.3%	57.4%
1976	49.2%	57.5%
1977	48.9%	57.7%
1978	48.7%	58%
1979	48.5%	58.4%
1980	48.3%	58.7%
1981	48.1%	59%
1982	47.9%	59.3%
1983	47.8%	59.6%
1984	47.7%	59.9%
1985	47.7%	60.1%
1986	47.8%	60.4%
1987	48%	60.5%
1988	48.6%	60.7%
1989	49.3%	60.8%
1990	49.9%	60.9%
1991	50.4%	61%
1992	51%	61.1%
1993	51.3%	61.2%
1994	50.6%	61.3%
1995	50.1%	61.5%
1996	50.7%	61.7%
1997	51.5%	61.9%
1998	52.3%	62.2%
1999	53.2%	62.5%
2000	54%	62.8%
2001	54.7%	63.1%
2002	55.3%	63.4%
2003	55.7%	63.7%
2004	56.1%	64%
2005	56.3%	64.3%
2006	56.5%	64.5%
2007	56.9%	64.7%
2008	57.3%	64.9%
2009	57.8%	65%
2010	58.2%	65.1%
2011	58.6%	65.2%
2012	58.9%	65.2%
2013	59.2%	65.2%
2014	59.5%	65.2%
2015	59.8%	65.1%
2016	60.1%	65.1%
2017	60.4%	65%
2018	60.8%	64.9%
2019	61.1%	64.9%
2020	61.4%	64.8%
2021	61.8%	64.9%
2022	62%	64.9%
2023	62.2%	65%
2024	62.4%	65.1%
2025	62.7%	65.2%
2026	63%	65.3%
2027	63.3%	65.4%
2028	63.7%	65.4%
2029	64%	65.4%
2030	64.3%	65.4%
2031	64.6%	65.4%
2032	65%	65.4%
2033	65.2%	65.4%
2034	65.5%	65.3%
2035	65.8%	65.2%
2036	66.2%	65%
2037	66.5%	64.9%
2038	66.8%	64.7%
2039	67%	64.6%
2040	67.2%	64.5%
2041	67.4%	64.4%
2042	67.6%	64.3%
2043	67.7%	64.2%
2044	67.8%	64.1%
2045	67.9%	63.9%
2046	68%	63.8%
2047	68%	63.7%
2048	68%	63.6%
2049	68%	63.4%
2050	68%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Eswatini changed from 56.1% to 62.4% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Eswatini	World
1960	46.9%	37.4%
1961	47.2%	37.5%
1962	47.4%	37.6%
1963	47.7%	37.8%
1964	47.8%	38%
1965	47.7%	38%
1966	47.7%	38%
1967	47.5%	38%
1968	47.3%	37.9%
1969	47.2%	37.8%
1970	47.2%	37.7%
1971	47.2%	37.6%
1972	47.3%	37.5%
1973	47.4%	37.3%
1974	47.5%	37.2%
1975	47.7%	37.1%
1976	47.9%	36.9%
1977	48.1%	36.7%
1978	48.3%	36.3%
1979	48.5%	35.9%
1980	48.7%	35.5%
1981	48.9%	35.2%
1982	49.2%	34.9%
1983	49.3%	34.6%
1984	49.4%	34.3%
1985	49.5%	34%
1986	49.4%	33.8%
1987	49.3%	33.6%
1988	48.7%	33.4%
1989	48.1%	33.2%
1990	47.6%	33%
1991	47.1%	32.9%
1992	46.6%	32.7%
1993	46.4%	32.5%
1994	47%	32.3%
1995	47.4%	32.1%
1996	46.9%	31.8%
1997	46.2%	31.5%
1998	45.3%	31.1%
1999	44.4%	30.8%
2000	43.6%	30.4%
2001	42.9%	30%
2002	42.3%	29.6%
2003	41.8%	29.2%
2004	41.4%	28.8%
2005	41.1%	28.5%
2006	40.8%	28.1%
2007	40.4%	27.9%
2008	39.9%	27.6%
2009	39.3%	27.5%
2010	38.8%	27.3%
2011	38.4%	27.1%
2012	38%	27%
2013	37.6%	26.9%
2014	37.2%	26.8%
2015	36.8%	26.6%
2016	36.4%	26.5%
2017	36%	26.4%
2018	35.6%	26.2%
2019	35.1%	26%
2020	34.7%	25.8%
2021	34.3%	25.6%
2022	34%	25.3%
2023	33.7%	25%
2024	33.4%	24.7%
2025	33%	24.4%
2026	32.6%	24.1%
2027	32.2%	23.8%
2028	31.8%	23.4%
2029	31.4%	23.1%
2030	31%	22.8%
2031	30.7%	22.6%
2032	30.3%	22.3%
2033	29.9%	22.1%
2034	29.5%	21.9%
2035	29.1%	21.7%
2036	28.7%	21.6%
2037	28.4%	21.5%
2038	28%	21.4%
2039	27.7%	21.3%
2040	27.4%	21.2%
2041	27.1%	21.1%
2042	26.8%	21%
2043	26.5%	21%
2044	26.2%	20.9%
2045	26%	20.8%
2046	25.7%	20.7%
2047	25.4%	20.7%
2048	25.1%	20.6%
2049	24.9%	20.5%
2050	24.6%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Eswatini decreased from 41.4% to 33.4% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Eswatini	World
1960	2.9%	4.97%
1961	2.91%	4.99%
1962	2.92%	5.01%
1963	2.92%	5.02%
1964	2.92%	5.04%
1965	2.92%	5.08%
1966	2.91%	5.12%
1967	2.92%	5.16%
1968	2.93%	5.2%
1969	2.94%	5.24%
1970	2.95%	5.28%
1971	2.96%	5.32%
1972	2.97%	5.37%
1973	2.98%	5.42%
1974	2.98%	5.47%
1975	2.99%	5.53%
1976	2.98%	5.59%
1977	2.98%	5.65%
1978	2.97%	5.71%
1979	2.95%	5.77%
1980	2.94%	5.81%
1981	2.92%	5.81%
1982	2.9%	5.8%
1983	2.88%	5.79%
1984	2.85%	5.8%
1985	2.81%	5.82%
1986	2.76%	5.86%
1987	2.71%	5.91%
1988	2.64%	5.95%
1989	2.56%	6.01%
1990	2.5%	6.07%
1991	2.44%	6.14%
1992	2.39%	6.21%
1993	2.35%	6.29%
1994	2.38%	6.37%
1995	2.41%	6.45%
1996	2.38%	6.53%
1997	2.37%	6.61%
1998	2.37%	6.68%
1999	2.37%	6.76%
2000	2.39%	6.84%
2001	2.41%	6.92%
2002	2.44%	7.01%
2003	2.49%	7.1%
2004	2.55%	7.18%
2005	2.63%	7.26%
2006	2.7%	7.34%
2007	2.76%	7.41%
2008	2.81%	7.47%
2009	2.87%	7.52%
2010	2.95%	7.58%
2011	3.05%	7.66%
2012	3.14%	7.78%
2013	3.23%	7.92%
2014	3.31%	8.08%
2015	3.4%	8.26%
2016	3.48%	8.45%
2017	3.58%	8.65%
2018	3.69%	8.88%
2019	3.8%	9.1%
2020	3.87%	9.33%
2021	3.92%	9.53%
2022	4.02%	9.74%
2023	4.15%	9.98%
2024	4.26%	10.2%
2025	4.35%	10.4%
2026	4.4%	10.6%
2027	4.46%	10.8%
2028	4.53%	11.1%
2029	4.59%	11.5%
2030	4.65%	11.7%
2031	4.7%	12%
2032	4.76%	12.3%
2033	4.88%	12.6%
2034	5%	12.8%
2035	5.05%	13.1%
2036	5.08%	13.4%
2037	5.13%	13.7%
2038	5.19%	13.9%
2039	5.27%	14.1%
2040	5.37%	14.3%
2041	5.48%	14.5%
2042	5.62%	14.7%
2043	5.76%	14.9%
2044	5.94%	15%
2045	6.14%	15.2%
2046	6.36%	15.4%
2047	6.6%	15.7%
2048	6.86%	15.9%
2049	7.13%	16.1%
2050	7.4%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Eswatini increased from 2.55% to 4.26% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.