Iran vs Saudi Arabia Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Iran vs Saudi Arabia

Table

Year	Median age
	Iran	Saudi Arabia
1960	19.1	18.6
1961	18.7	18.5
1962	18.4	18.4
1963	18.1	18.2
1964	17.9	18
1965	17.8	17.9
1966	17.7	17.7
1967	17.7	17.6
1968	17.6	17.5
1969	17.6	17.4
1970	17.6	17.4
1971	17.7	17.4
1972	17.8	17.4
1973	17.9	17.5
1974	18	17.6
1975	18.1	17.7
1976	18.2	17.8
1977	18.3	17.9
1978	18.3	18
1979	18.3	18.1
1980	18.2	18.2
1981	18.4	18.3
1982	18.6	18.4
1983	18.5	18.5
1984	18.4	18.6
1985	18.3	18.7
1986	18.2	18.7
1987	18.2	18.8
1988	18.2	18.9
1989	18.1	19
1990	18.2	19
1991	18.3	19.2
1992	18.4	19.3
1993	18.3	19.4
1994	18.4	19.6
1995	18.7	19.7
1996	19.1	19.9
1997	19.5	20.2
1998	20	20.4
1999	20.7	20.7
2000	21.4	20.8
2001	22	20.7
2002	22.6	20.8
2003	23.1	21.1
2004	23.7	21.4
2005	24.3	21.9
2006	24.8	22.3
2007	25.5	22.8
2008	26.1	23.4
2009	26.6	23.9
2010	27.2	24.5
2011	27.7	25.2
2012	28.2	25.9
2013	28.7	26.6
2014	29.2	27.2
2015	29.7	27.9
2016	30.2	28.6
2017	30.7	29
2018	31.2	29.3
2019	31.7	29.3
2020	32.3	29.4
2021	32.8	29.5
2022	33.3	29.7
2023	33.8	30.2
2024	34.3	30.5
2025	35	30.6
2026	35.5	30.7
2027	36.1	30.7
2028	36.6	30.7
2029	37.2	30.7
2030	37.7	30.7
2031	38.2	30.7
2032	38.7	30.8
2033	39.2	30.8
2034	39.6	30.9
2035	40	31
2036	40.4	31.1
2037	40.8	31.2
2038	41.2	31.4
2039	41.5	31.5
2040	41.8	31.7
2041	42.1	31.8
2042	42.4	31.9
2043	42.7	32.1
2044	42.9	32.2
2045	43.2	32.3
2046	43.4	32.5
2047	43.7	32.6
2048	43.9	32.7
2049	44.2	32.9
2050	44.5	33

In 1960, the median age in Iran was 19.1 years compared to 18.6 years in Saudi Arabia. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 34.3 years in Iran and to 30.5 years in Saudi Arabia.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Iran is expected to increased to around 44.5 years by 2050 compared to 33 years in Saudi Arabia. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Iran		Saudi Arabia
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	3.37%	3.2%	3.98%	3.82%
5-9	4.19%	3.96%	4.14%	3.99%
10-14	3.98%	3.75%	4.02%	3.86%
15-19	3.56%	3.38%	3.68%	3.5%
20-24	3.25%	3.11%	4.31%	3.31%
25-29	3.42%	3.31%	6.42%	3.68%
30-34	4.41%	4.25%	7.84%	3.98%
35-39	5.07%	4.9%	7.54%	3.6%
40-44	4.64%	4.45%	6.09%	2.84%
45-49	3.56%	3.41%	4.27%	2.06%
50-54	2.99%	2.85%	3.04%	1.5%
55-59	2.39%	2.38%	2.19%	1.15%
60-64	1.99%	2%	1.41%	0.85%
65-69	1.56%	1.58%	0.75%	0.54%
70-74	1.23%	1.23%	0.4%	0.33%
75-79	0.71%	0.75%	0.27%	0.23%
80+	0.5%	0.67%	0.21%	0.23%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Iran has low demographic potential with 51.1% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 60.5% and average potential in Saudi Arabia.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Iran			Saudi Arabia
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	91%	83.1%	7.89%	87.4%	81.2%	6.14%
1961	92.7%	85%	7.74%	88.2%	82.1%	6.1%
1962	94%	86.5%	7.59%	89.1%	83.1%	6.07%
1963	95%	87.6%	7.43%	90.2%	84.2%	6.03%
1964	95.2%	87.9%	7.28%	91.3%	85.3%	5.99%
1965	94.7%	87.6%	7.12%	92.1%	86.1%	5.94%
1966	94.2%	87.2%	6.99%	92.8%	86.9%	5.88%
1967	93.8%	86.9%	6.89%	93.3%	87.5%	5.81%
1968	93.5%	86.7%	6.8%	93.7%	87.9%	5.72%
1969	93.1%	86.4%	6.73%	93.8%	88.1%	5.63%
1970	92.5%	85.9%	6.65%	93.7%	88.2%	5.52%
1971	91.7%	85.2%	6.58%	93.3%	87.9%	5.39%
1972	90.7%	84.2%	6.51%	92.5%	87.3%	5.23%
1973	89.5%	83%	6.43%	91.6%	86.5%	5.07%
1974	88.2%	81.8%	6.35%	90.7%	85.8%	4.91%
1975	87%	80.7%	6.26%	89.8%	85%	4.75%
1976	86.3%	80.1%	6.18%	89%	84.4%	4.6%
1977	85.9%	79.8%	6.11%	88.1%	83.7%	4.46%
1978	85.9%	79.8%	6.03%	87.3%	83%	4.32%
1979	86.1%	80.2%	5.95%	86.7%	82.5%	4.2%
1980	86.7%	80.8%	5.9%	86.1%	82%	4.09%
1981	85.3%	79.6%	5.74%	85.5%	81.5%	3.99%
1982	84.2%	78.6%	5.6%	84.8%	80.9%	3.89%
1983	85.1%	79.5%	5.56%	84.2%	80.4%	3.8%
1984	86.1%	80.5%	5.57%	83.9%	80.1%	3.73%
1985	87.1%	81.5%	5.61%	83.7%	80%	3.68%
1986	87.8%	82.2%	5.68%	83.4%	79.8%	3.64%
1987	88.5%	82.7%	5.78%	83%	79.4%	3.6%
1988	89.3%	83.4%	5.91%	82.6%	79%	3.58%
1989	89.9%	83.9%	6.04%	82.3%	78.7%	3.57%
1990	89.9%	83.7%	6.14%	81.7%	78.1%	3.57%
1991	89.3%	83.1%	6.23%	80.9%	77.3%	3.57%
1992	88.7%	82.3%	6.33%	80%	76.4%	3.58%
1993	88.8%	82.3%	6.51%	78.9%	75.3%	3.59%
1994	87.7%	81%	6.67%	77.7%	74.1%	3.6%
1995	84.2%	77.5%	6.74%	76.3%	72.7%	3.62%
1996	80.1%	73.3%	6.79%	74.8%	71.1%	3.64%
1997	75.4%	68.6%	6.81%	73.2%	69.5%	3.67%
1998	70.3%	63.5%	6.79%	71.4%	67.7%	3.7%
1999	65.3%	58.6%	6.77%	69.7%	65.9%	3.74%
2000	60.6%	53.9%	6.74%	68.1%	64.4%	3.75%
2001	56.3%	49.6%	6.72%	66.4%	62.7%	3.72%
2002	52.8%	46.1%	6.78%	64.1%	60.4%	3.69%
2003	49.8%	43%	6.83%	61.2%	57.5%	3.65%
2004	47.1%	40.3%	6.81%	58.1%	54.5%	3.61%
2005	44.8%	38%	6.79%	54.9%	51.4%	3.57%
2006	43%	36.2%	6.79%	51.9%	48.4%	3.53%
2007	41.6%	34.8%	6.84%	49.2%	45.7%	3.5%
2008	40.8%	33.8%	6.94%	46.8%	43.3%	3.48%
2009	40.3%	33.2%	7.07%	44.7%	41.2%	3.46%
2010	40.1%	32.8%	7.23%	42.9%	39.5%	3.42%
2011	40.1%	32.7%	7.41%	41.4%	38%	3.38%
2012	40.3%	32.7%	7.62%	40.2%	36.9%	3.32%
2013	40.6%	32.8%	7.85%	39.1%	35.9%	3.24%
2014	41.2%	33.1%	8.15%	38.3%	35.1%	3.15%
2015	42%	33.5%	8.53%	37.5%	34.5%	3.06%
2016	42.9%	34%	8.93%	37.2%	34.2%	3.04%
2017	43.7%	34.3%	9.34%	37.8%	34.7%	3.14%
2018	44.3%	34.6%	9.75%	39%	35.7%	3.31%
2019	44.8%	34.6%	10.2%	39.3%	35.9%	3.41%
2020	44.9%	34.5%	10.5%	38.9%	35.4%	3.5%
2021	44.8%	34.1%	10.7%	38.6%	34.9%	3.63%
2022	44.6%	33.6%	11%	37.6%	33.9%	3.72%
2023	44.4%	33%	11.4%	36.8%	33%	3.86%
2024	44.3%	32.4%	11.9%	36.6%	32.5%	4.03%

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 Iran decreased from 47.1% to 44.3% between 2004 and 2024.

In Saudi Arabia, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 58.1% to 36.6% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and an increased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Iran	Saudi Arabia
1960	52.4%	53.4%
1961	51.9%	53.1%
1962	51.5%	52.9%
1963	51.3%	52.6%
1964	51.2%	52.3%
1965	51.4%	52.1%
1966	51.5%	51.9%
1967	51.6%	51.7%
1968	51.7%	51.6%
1969	51.8%	51.6%
1970	51.9%	51.6%
1971	52.2%	51.7%
1972	52.4%	51.9%
1973	52.8%	52.2%
1974	53.1%	52.4%
1975	53.5%	52.7%
1976	53.7%	52.9%
1977	53.8%	53.2%
1978	53.8%	53.4%
1979	53.7%	53.6%
1980	53.6%	53.7%
1981	54%	53.9%
1982	54.3%	54.1%
1983	54%	54.3%
1984	53.7%	54.4%
1985	53.5%	54.4%
1986	53.2%	54.5%
1987	53%	54.7%
1988	52.8%	54.8%
1989	52.7%	54.9%
1990	52.7%	55%
1991	52.8%	55.3%
1992	53%	55.6%
1993	53%	55.9%
1994	53.3%	56.3%
1995	54.3%	56.7%
1996	55.5%	57.2%
1997	57%	57.7%
1998	58.7%	58.3%
1999	60.5%	58.9%
2000	62.2%	59.5%
2001	64%	60.1%
2002	65.4%	61%
2003	66.7%	62%
2004	68%	63.3%
2005	69.1%	64.5%
2006	69.9%	65.8%
2007	70.6%	67%
2008	71%	68.1%
2009	71.3%	69.1%
2010	71.4%	70%
2011	71.4%	70.7%
2012	71.3%	71.3%
2013	71.1%	71.9%
2014	70.8%	72.3%
2015	70.4%	72.7%
2016	70%	72.9%
2017	69.6%	72.6%
2018	69.3%	72%
2019	69.1%	71.8%
2020	69%	72%
2021	69%	72.2%
2022	69.1%	72.7%
2023	69.2%	73.1%
2024	69.3%	73.2%
2025	69.4%	73.3%
2026	69.5%	73.4%
2027	69.6%	73.5%
2028	69.8%	73.5%
2029	70%	73.5%
2030	70.3%	73.6%
2031	70.6%	73.5%
2032	70.8%	73.5%
2033	71%	73.5%
2034	71%	73.4%
2035	70.8%	73.3%
2036	70.6%	73.2%
2037	70.3%	73.1%
2038	70.1%	73%
2039	69.8%	73%
2040	69.4%	73%
2041	69%	72.9%
2042	68.5%	72.9%
2043	68%	72.8%
2044	67.4%	72.7%
2045	66.7%	72.6%
2046	65.9%	72.4%
2047	65.1%	72.3%
2048	64.3%	72.1%
2049	63.4%	71.9%
2050	62.5%	71.7%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 68% to 69.3% in Iran and from 63.3% to 73.2% in Saudi Arabia.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Iran	Saudi Arabia
1960	43.5%	43.4%
1961	44.1%	43.6%
1962	44.6%	43.9%
1963	44.9%	44.3%
1964	45%	44.6%
1965	45%	44.8%
1966	44.9%	45.1%
1967	44.8%	45.3%
1968	44.8%	45.4%
1969	44.7%	45.5%
1970	44.6%	45.5%
1971	44.4%	45.5%
1972	44.2%	45.3%
1973	43.8%	45.2%
1974	43.5%	45%
1975	43.2%	44.8%
1976	43%	44.6%
1977	42.9%	44.5%
1978	43%	44.3%
1979	43.1%	44.2%
1980	43.3%	44.1%
1981	42.9%	43.9%
1982	42.7%	43.8%
1983	43%	43.7%
1984	43.3%	43.6%
1985	43.5%	43.6%
1986	43.7%	43.5%
1987	43.9%	43.4%
1988	44%	43.3%
1989	44.2%	43.2%
1990	44.1%	43%
1991	43.9%	42.7%
1992	43.6%	42.4%
1993	43.6%	42.1%
1994	43.2%	41.7%
1995	42.1%	41.2%
1996	40.7%	40.7%
1997	39.1%	40.1%
1998	37.3%	39.5%
1999	35.4%	38.9%
2000	33.6%	38.3%
2001	31.7%	37.7%
2002	30.1%	36.8%
2003	28.7%	35.7%
2004	27.4%	34.5%
2005	26.2%	33.2%
2006	25.3%	31.9%
2007	24.6%	30.6%
2008	24%	29.5%
2009	23.7%	28.5%
2010	23.4%	27.6%
2011	23.3%	26.9%
2012	23.3%	26.3%
2013	23.3%	25.8%
2014	23.4%	25.4%
2015	23.6%	25.1%
2016	23.8%	24.9%
2017	23.9%	25.2%
2018	24%	25.7%
2019	23.9%	25.8%
2020	23.8%	25.5%
2021	23.6%	25.2%
2022	23.2%	24.6%
2023	22.8%	24.1%
2024	22.4%	23.8%
2025	22%	23.6%
2026	21.6%	23.4%
2027	21.1%	23.3%
2028	20.5%	23.1%
2029	19.9%	22.9%
2030	19.3%	22.8%
2031	18.6%	22.6%
2032	18%	22.5%
2033	17.4%	22.4%
2034	17%	22.3%
2035	16.7%	22.2%
2036	16.4%	22.2%
2037	16.2%	22.1%
2038	15.9%	22%
2039	15.8%	21.9%
2040	15.6%	21.7%
2041	15.5%	21.5%
2042	15.4%	21.3%
2043	15.3%	21.2%
2044	15.3%	21%
2045	15.2%	20.8%
2046	15.2%	20.7%
2047	15.2%	20.5%
2048	15.2%	20.4%
2049	15.1%	20.2%
2050	15.1%	20.1%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 22.4% in Iran and 23.8% in Saudi Arabia. Birth rates in Iran compared to Saudi Arabia .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Iran	Saudi Arabia
1960	4.13%	3.27%
1961	4.02%	3.24%
1962	3.91%	3.21%
1963	3.81%	3.17%
1964	3.73%	3.13%
1965	3.66%	3.09%
1966	3.6%	3.05%
1967	3.55%	3%
1968	3.52%	2.95%
1969	3.48%	2.9%
1970	3.45%	2.85%
1971	3.43%	2.79%
1972	3.41%	2.72%
1973	3.4%	2.65%
1974	3.38%	2.57%
1975	3.35%	2.5%
1976	3.32%	2.43%
1977	3.29%	2.37%
1978	3.24%	2.31%
1979	3.2%	2.25%
1980	3.16%	2.2%
1981	3.1%	2.15%
1982	3.04%	2.1%
1983	3.01%	2.06%
1984	2.99%	2.03%
1985	3%	2.01%
1986	3.02%	1.99%
1987	3.07%	1.97%
1988	3.12%	1.96%
1989	3.18%	1.96%
1990	3.24%	1.97%
1991	3.29%	1.97%
1992	3.35%	1.99%
1993	3.45%	2.01%
1994	3.56%	2.03%
1995	3.66%	2.05%
1996	3.77%	2.08%
1997	3.88%	2.12%
1998	3.99%	2.16%
1999	4.09%	2.2%
2000	4.2%	2.23%
2001	4.3%	2.24%
2002	4.44%	2.25%
2003	4.56%	2.26%
2004	4.63%	2.28%
2005	4.69%	2.3%
2006	4.75%	2.32%
2007	4.83%	2.35%
2008	4.93%	2.37%
2009	5.04%	2.39%
2010	5.16%	2.4%
2011	5.29%	2.39%
2012	5.43%	2.37%
2013	5.58%	2.33%
2014	5.77%	2.28%
2015	6.01%	2.23%
2016	6.25%	2.21%
2017	6.5%	2.28%
2018	6.76%	2.38%
2019	7.02%	2.45%
2020	7.23%	2.52%
2021	7.41%	2.62%
2022	7.63%	2.7%
2023	7.92%	2.82%
2024	8.24%	2.95%
2025	8.58%	3.06%
2026	8.94%	3.17%
2027	9.31%	3.29%
2028	9.67%	3.42%
2029	10%	3.55%
2030	10.4%	3.69%
2031	10.8%	3.84%
2032	11.2%	4%
2033	11.6%	4.16%
2034	12.1%	4.32%
2035	12.5%	4.47%
2036	13%	4.63%
2037	13.5%	4.79%
2038	14%	4.96%
2039	14.5%	5.14%
2040	15%	5.34%
2041	15.5%	5.55%
2042	16.1%	5.79%
2043	16.7%	6.05%
2044	17.3%	6.32%
2045	18.1%	6.61%
2046	18.9%	6.91%
2047	19.7%	7.22%
2048	20.5%	7.54%
2049	21.5%	7.87%
2050	22.4%	8.2%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 8.24% in Iran and 2.95% in Saudi Arabia. Life expectancy in Iran compared to Saudi Arabia .