Nauru vs Papua New Guinea Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Nauru vs Papua New Guinea

Table

Year	Median age
	Nauru	Papua New Guinea
1960	23.8	18.5
1961	24	18.4
1962	23.9	18.3
1963	23.7	18.1
1964	23.4	18
1965	23.1	17.9
1966	22.9	17.8
1967	22.9	17.6
1968	21.2	17.5
1969	18.9	17.4
1970	18.7	17.3
1971	19.1	17.2
1972	19.4	17.1
1973	19.8	17.2
1974	20.4	17.2
1975	21	17.3
1976	21.5	17.4
1977	22.1	17.5
1978	22.9	17.7
1979	23.6	17.8
1980	24.2	18
1981	24.7	18.1
1982	25.1	18.2
1983	25.2	18.3
1984	24.5	18.3
1985	23.7	18.4
1986	22.8	18.5
1987	22.1	18.5
1988	21.4	18.6
1989	20.8	18.6
1990	20.2	18.7
1991	19.7	18.8
1992	19.4	18.9
1993	19.3	19
1994	19.3	19.1
1995	19.3	19.2
1996	19.4	19.4
1997	19.5	19.5
1998	19.6	19.6
1999	19.8	19.7
2000	20.1	19.8
2001	20.4	19.9
2002	20.6	19.9
2003	20.8	20
2004	21	20.2
2005	21.2	20.3
2006	21.3	20.4
2007	21.5	20.6
2008	21.7	20.7
2009	21.8	20.9
2010	21.8	21
2011	21.8	21.2
2012	21.7	21.3
2013	21.6	21.5
2014	21.5	21.7
2015	21.4	21.9
2016	21.5	22
2017	21.6	22.2
2018	21.8	22.4
2019	21.9	22.6
2020	21.8	22.8
2021	21.7	23
2022	21.6	23.2
2023	21.5	23.4
2024	21.4	23.6
2025	21.3	23.8
2026	21.3	24
2027	21.3	24.2
2028	21.5	24.5
2029	21.7	24.7
2030	21.9	24.9
2031	22.2	25.2
2032	22.5	25.4
2033	22.8	25.6
2034	23.1	25.9
2035	23.4	26.1
2036	23.7	26.3
2037	24	26.6
2038	24.3	26.8
2039	24.6	27
2040	24.8	27.3
2041	25.1	27.5
2042	25.3	27.7
2043	25.5	28
2044	25.7	28.2
2045	25.8	28.4
2046	26	28.6
2047	26.2	28.9
2048	26.4	29.1
2049	26.6	29.3
2050	26.8	29.5

In 1960, the median age in Nauru was 23.8 years compared to 18.5 years in Papua New Guinea. As of 2024, the median age had changed to 21.4 years in Nauru and to 23.6 years in Papua New Guinea.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Nauru is expected to increased to around 26.8 years by 2050 compared to 29.5 years in Papua New Guinea. 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
	Nauru		Papua New Guinea
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	6.28%	6.11%	6.03%	5.63%
5-9	6.46%	6.01%	5.8%	5.4%
10-14	6.7%	6.22%	5.54%	5.08%
15-19	5.43%	4.78%	5.19%	4.7%
20-24	3.72%	3.67%	4.82%	4.37%
25-29	3.71%	3.46%	4.39%	4.06%
30-34	4.02%	3.56%	3.97%	3.79%
35-39	3.85%	3.78%	3.45%	3.47%
40-44	3.32%	3.17%	2.9%	2.99%
45-49	2.21%	2.2%	2.49%	2.55%
50-54	1.67%	1.64%	2.07%	2.08%
55-59	1.52%	1.42%	1.69%	1.61%
60-64	0.97%	1.29%	1.3%	1.16%
65-69	0.57%	1.03%	0.86%	0.76%
70-74	0.34%	0.51%	0.5%	0.48%
75-79	0.1%	0.2%	0.27%	0.26%
80+	0.07%	0.04%	0.16%	0.18%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Nauru has average demographic potential with 70.1% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 68.8% and similar potential in Papua New Guinea.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Nauru			Papua New Guinea
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	63.1%	56.8%	6.34%	80.3%	78.3%	2.01%
1961	63.3%	57.4%	5.89%	81.1%	79.1%	2.01%
1962	63.9%	58.4%	5.43%	81.9%	79.9%	2%
1963	65.4%	60.3%	5.11%	82.6%	80.7%	1.98%
1964	67.8%	62.9%	4.87%	83.4%	81.5%	1.96%
1965	70.4%	65.8%	4.57%	84.2%	82.2%	1.94%
1966	72.1%	67.8%	4.34%	84.9%	83%	1.93%
1967	72.2%	68.1%	4.1%	85.7%	83.8%	1.93%
1968	75.6%	72.6%	2.97%	86.5%	84.6%	1.95%
1969	79.9%	78%	1.86%	87.3%	85.4%	1.96%
1970	78%	76.3%	1.68%	88.1%	86.1%	1.98%
1971	73.4%	71.6%	1.76%	88.8%	86.8%	2%
1972	68.9%	67.1%	1.85%	89%	87%	2.01%
1973	64.6%	62.7%	1.87%	88.6%	86.6%	2.01%
1974	60.3%	58.4%	1.89%	88.1%	86%	2.02%
1975	56.5%	54.6%	1.93%	87.3%	85.3%	2.04%
1976	53%	51%	1.94%	86.3%	84.3%	2.08%
1977	50.2%	48%	2.25%	85.2%	83.1%	2.14%
1978	49.2%	46.1%	3.05%	84%	81.8%	2.21%
1979	49.9%	45.8%	4.08%	82.7%	80.4%	2.3%
1980	52.2%	47%	5.2%	81.4%	79%	2.41%
1981	56%	49.7%	6.31%	80.6%	78%	2.54%
1982	61%	53.5%	7.48%	80.3%	77.6%	2.69%
1983	65.4%	57.2%	8.19%	80.1%	77.2%	2.85%
1984	68.2%	60%	8.22%	79.9%	76.9%	3%
1985	70.2%	62.2%	7.97%	79.9%	76.7%	3.16%
1986	72%	64.4%	7.58%	79.8%	76.5%	3.32%
1987	73.7%	66.6%	7.11%	79.8%	76.3%	3.47%
1988	75.1%	68.7%	6.45%	79.7%	76.1%	3.6%
1989	76.4%	70.9%	5.58%	79.6%	75.9%	3.73%
1990	77.9%	73.2%	4.69%	79.5%	75.6%	3.87%
1991	79%	75.3%	3.7%	79.1%	75.1%	3.99%
1992	79.3%	76.3%	3.04%	78.5%	74.5%	4.07%
1993	79%	76%	2.99%	77.9%	73.8%	4.13%
1994	78.1%	75%	3.08%	77.3%	73.1%	4.19%
1995	76.9%	73.7%	3.17%	76.7%	72.4%	4.23%
1996	75.3%	72.1%	3.21%	76.1%	71.8%	4.27%
1997	73.4%	70.2%	3.21%	75.5%	71.2%	4.3%
1998	71.5%	68.4%	3.06%	75%	70.6%	4.33%
1999	69.6%	66.8%	2.86%	74.4%	70.1%	4.35%
2000	68.1%	65.4%	2.73%	73.9%	69.5%	4.37%
2001	66.9%	64.3%	2.59%	73.3%	68.9%	4.4%
2002	65.7%	63.3%	2.42%	72.7%	68.3%	4.43%
2003	64.4%	62%	2.38%	72%	67.6%	4.46%
2004	62.9%	60.5%	2.4%	71.3%	66.8%	4.47%
2005	61.4%	59%	2.39%	70.6%	66.1%	4.49%
2006	60.2%	57.8%	2.39%	69.9%	65.4%	4.49%
2007	59.3%	56.9%	2.4%	69.3%	64.8%	4.5%
2008	58.9%	56.5%	2.36%	68.6%	64.1%	4.51%
2009	59.3%	57%	2.27%	67.9%	63.4%	4.52%
2010	60.4%	58.2%	2.15%	67.2%	62.7%	4.53%
2011	62.2%	60.1%	2.06%	66.6%	62%	4.55%
2012	63.9%	61.8%	2.08%	66%	61.4%	4.57%
2013	64.8%	62.6%	2.19%	65.3%	60.7%	4.6%
2014	65.4%	63.1%	2.28%	64.7%	60.1%	4.62%
2015	65.9%	63.5%	2.48%	64%	59.4%	4.67%
2016	66.2%	63.4%	2.76%	63.4%	58.7%	4.72%
2017	66%	63%	2.97%	62.7%	58%	4.78%
2018	65.4%	62.2%	3.19%	62.1%	57.2%	4.85%
2019	65.7%	62.3%	3.38%	61.4%	56.5%	4.92%
2020	67%	63.4%	3.54%	60.8%	55.8%	5%
2021	68.1%	64.3%	3.73%	60.2%	55.1%	5.08%
2022	68.8%	64.7%	4.1%	59.6%	54.5%	5.18%
2023	69.1%	64.6%	4.53%	59.1%	53.8%	5.33%
2024	68.4%	63.6%	4.8%	58.6%	53.1%	5.49%

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 Nauru increased from 62.9% to 68.4% between 2004 and 2024.

In Papua New Guinea, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 71.3% to 58.6% 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
	Nauru	Papua New Guinea
1960	61.3%	55.5%
1961	61.2%	55.2%
1962	61%	55%
1963	60.4%	54.8%
1964	59.6%	54.5%
1965	58.7%	54.3%
1966	58.1%	54.1%
1967	58.1%	53.8%
1968	57%	53.6%
1969	55.6%	53.4%
1970	56.2%	53.2%
1971	57.7%	53%
1972	59.2%	52.9%
1973	60.8%	53%
1974	62.4%	53.2%
1975	63.9%	53.4%
1976	65.4%	53.7%
1977	66.6%	54%
1978	67%	54.4%
1979	66.7%	54.7%
1980	65.7%	55.1%
1981	64.1%	55.4%
1982	62.1%	55.5%
1983	60.5%	55.5%
1984	59.5%	55.6%
1985	58.8%	55.6%
1986	58.1%	55.6%
1987	57.6%	55.6%
1988	57.1%	55.6%
1989	56.7%	55.7%
1990	56.2%	55.7%
1991	55.9%	55.8%
1992	55.8%	56%
1993	55.9%	56.2%
1994	56.1%	56.4%
1995	56.5%	56.6%
1996	57.1%	56.8%
1997	57.7%	57%
1998	58.3%	57.2%
1999	58.9%	57.3%
2000	59.5%	57.5%
2001	59.9%	57.7%
2002	60.3%	57.9%
2003	60.8%	58.1%
2004	61.4%	58.4%
2005	61.9%	58.6%
2006	62.4%	58.8%
2007	62.8%	59.1%
2008	62.9%	59.3%
2009	62.8%	59.6%
2010	62.4%	59.8%
2011	61.6%	60%
2012	61%	60.3%
2013	60.7%	60.5%
2014	60.5%	60.7%
2015	60.3%	61%
2016	60.2%	61.2%
2017	60.2%	61.4%
2018	60.5%	61.7%
2019	60.4%	61.9%
2020	59.9%	62.2%
2021	59.5%	62.4%
2022	59.2%	62.6%
2023	59.1%	62.8%
2024	59.4%	63.1%
2025	59.8%	63.3%
2026	60.4%	63.5%
2027	61%	63.7%
2028	61.6%	63.9%
2029	62%	64.1%
2030	62.5%	64.3%
2031	62.9%	64.5%
2032	63.2%	64.7%
2033	63.4%	64.9%
2034	63.6%	65.1%
2035	63.8%	65.2%
2036	64.1%	65.4%
2037	64.3%	65.6%
2038	64.4%	65.7%
2039	64.5%	65.8%
2040	64.5%	66%
2041	64.5%	66.1%
2042	64.4%	66.1%
2043	64.3%	66.2%
2044	64.2%	66.3%
2045	64%	66.4%
2046	63.9%	66.4%
2047	63.9%	66.5%
2048	63.8%	66.5%
2049	63.8%	66.5%
2050	63.8%	66.6%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 61.4% to 59.4% in Nauru and from 58.4% to 63.1% in Papua New Guinea.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Nauru	Papua New Guinea
1960	34.8%	43.4%
1961	35.2%	43.7%
1962	35.7%	43.9%
1963	36.5%	44.2%
1964	37.5%	44.4%
1965	38.6%	44.6%
1966	39.4%	44.9%
1967	39.5%	45.1%
1968	41.3%	45.3%
1969	43.4%	45.6%
1970	42.9%	45.8%
1971	41.3%	46%
1972	39.7%	46%
1973	38.1%	45.9%
1974	36.4%	45.8%
1975	34.9%	45.5%
1976	33.4%	45.2%
1977	31.9%	44.9%
1978	30.9%	44.4%
1979	30.6%	44%
1980	30.9%	43.5%
1981	31.9%	43.2%
1982	33.2%	43%
1983	34.6%	42.9%
1984	35.7%	42.8%
1985	36.5%	42.6%
1986	37.5%	42.5%
1987	38.3%	42.4%
1988	39.2%	42.4%
1989	40.2%	42.3%
1990	41.2%	42.1%
1991	42.1%	41.9%
1992	42.5%	41.7%
1993	42.5%	41.5%
1994	42.1%	41.2%
1995	41.7%	41%
1996	41.1%	40.8%
1997	40.5%	40.6%
1998	39.9%	40.4%
1999	39.4%	40.2%
2000	38.9%	40%
2001	38.5%	39.8%
2002	38.2%	39.5%
2003	37.7%	39.3%
2004	37.1%	39%
2005	36.6%	38.8%
2006	36.1%	38.5%
2007	35.7%	38.3%
2008	35.6%	38%
2009	35.8%	37.7%
2010	36.3%	37.5%
2011	37.1%	37.2%
2012	37.7%	37%
2013	38%	36.7%
2014	38.2%	36.5%
2015	38.2%	36.2%
2016	38.2%	35.9%
2017	38%	35.6%
2018	37.6%	35.3%
2019	37.6%	35%
2020	38%	34.7%
2021	38.3%	34.4%
2022	38.3%	34.1%
2023	38.2%	33.8%
2024	37.8%	33.5%
2025	37.1%	33.1%
2026	36.4%	32.8%
2027	35.7%	32.5%
2028	35%	32.1%
2029	34.3%	31.8%
2030	33.7%	31.4%
2031	33.1%	31.1%
2032	32.7%	30.7%
2033	32.4%	30.4%
2034	32.1%	30.1%
2035	31.9%	29.7%
2036	31.6%	29.4%
2037	31.3%	29.1%
2038	31.1%	28.8%
2039	31%	28.5%
2040	31%	28.3%
2041	30.9%	28%
2042	30.9%	27.8%
2043	30.9%	27.5%
2044	30.9%	27.3%
2045	30.8%	27.1%
2046	30.7%	26.9%
2047	30.6%	26.7%
2048	30.4%	26.5%
2049	30.2%	26.3%
2050	30%	26.1%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 37.8% in Nauru and 33.5% in Papua New Guinea. Birth rates in Nauru compared to Papua New Guinea .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Nauru	Papua New Guinea
1960	3.89%	1.11%
1961	3.6%	1.11%
1962	3.31%	1.1%
1963	3.09%	1.09%
1964	2.9%	1.07%
1965	2.68%	1.05%
1966	2.52%	1.04%
1967	2.38%	1.04%
1968	1.69%	1.04%
1969	1.03%	1.05%
1970	0.95%	1.05%
1971	1.01%	1.06%
1972	1.09%	1.06%
1973	1.14%	1.06%
1974	1.18%	1.07%
1975	1.23%	1.09%
1976	1.27%	1.12%
1977	1.5%	1.15%
1978	2.04%	1.2%
1979	2.73%	1.26%
1980	3.42%	1.33%
1981	4.04%	1.41%
1982	4.65%	1.49%
1983	4.95%	1.58%
1984	4.89%	1.67%
1985	4.68%	1.76%
1986	4.4%	1.84%
1987	4.09%	1.93%
1988	3.68%	2.01%
1989	3.16%	2.08%
1990	2.63%	2.16%
1991	2.07%	2.23%
1992	1.7%	2.28%
1993	1.67%	2.32%
1994	1.73%	2.36%
1995	1.79%	2.39%
1996	1.83%	2.42%
1997	1.85%	2.45%
1998	1.78%	2.47%
1999	1.68%	2.49%
2000	1.62%	2.51%
2001	1.55%	2.54%
2002	1.46%	2.57%
2003	1.45%	2.59%
2004	1.48%	2.61%
2005	1.48%	2.63%
2006	1.5%	2.65%
2007	1.51%	2.66%
2008	1.48%	2.68%
2009	1.42%	2.69%
2010	1.34%	2.71%
2011	1.27%	2.73%
2012	1.27%	2.76%
2013	1.33%	2.78%
2014	1.38%	2.81%
2015	1.5%	2.84%
2016	1.66%	2.89%
2017	1.79%	2.94%
2018	1.93%	2.99%
2019	2.04%	3.05%
2020	2.12%	3.11%
2021	2.22%	3.17%
2022	2.43%	3.25%
2023	2.68%	3.35%
2024	2.85%	3.46%
2025	3.05%	3.59%
2026	3.22%	3.72%
2027	3.36%	3.86%
2028	3.47%	4%
2029	3.65%	4.14%
2030	3.81%	4.29%
2031	3.98%	4.44%
2032	4.12%	4.59%
2033	4.19%	4.73%
2034	4.24%	4.88%
2035	4.29%	5.03%
2036	4.32%	5.18%
2037	4.35%	5.33%
2038	4.44%	5.48%
2039	4.49%	5.64%
2040	4.53%	5.79%
2041	4.61%	5.95%
2042	4.7%	6.1%
2043	4.81%	6.26%
2044	4.95%	6.41%
2045	5.12%	6.57%
2046	5.31%	6.72%
2047	5.54%	6.87%
2048	5.74%	7.03%
2049	5.98%	7.19%
2050	6.22%	7.35%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 2.85% in Nauru and 3.46% in Papua New Guinea. Life expectancy in Nauru compared to Papua New Guinea .