Panama vs South Africa Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Panama vs South Africa

Table

Year	Median age
	Panama	South Africa
1960	17.8	19
1961	17.8	19
1962	17.7	18.9
1963	17.6	18.9
1964	17.6	18.9
1965	17.5	18.8
1966	17.5	18.8
1967	17.5	18.8
1968	17.5	18.8
1969	17.6	18.8
1970	17.6	18.8
1971	17.7	18.8
1972	17.7	18.8
1973	17.8	18.8
1974	18	18.9
1975	18.1	18.9
1976	18.3	19
1977	18.4	19.1
1978	18.6	19.2
1979	18.8	19.3
1980	19	19.4
1981	19.2	19.6
1982	19.5	19.8
1983	19.7	20
1984	19.9	20.2
1985	20.2	20.4
1986	20.4	20.5
1987	20.7	20.7
1988	21	20.9
1989	21.3	21.1
1990	21.5	21.3
1991	21.8	21.5
1992	22.1	21.5
1993	22.4	21.9
1994	22.7	22
1995	22.9	21.5
1996	23.2	21.2
1997	23.5	21.2
1998	23.7	21.4
1999	24	21.6
2000	24.3	21.9
2001	24.5	22.2
2002	24.8	22.4
2003	25.1	22.8
2004	25.3	23.1
2005	25.6	23.3
2006	25.9	23.5
2007	26.1	23.8
2008	26.4	24
2009	26.7	24.3
2010	27	24.6
2011	27.2	25
2012	27.5	25.3
2013	27.8	25.7
2014	28	26
2015	28.3	26.4
2016	28.5	26.7
2017	28.8	27
2018	29.1	27.5
2019	29.4	27.9
2020	29.7	28.3
2021	30	28.6
2022	30.3	28.9
2023	30.6	29.2
2024	30.9	29.5
2025	31.3	29.7
2026	31.6	29.9
2027	31.9	30.1
2028	32.2	30.3
2029	32.6	30.4
2030	32.9	30.6
2031	33.2	30.7
2032	33.5	30.9
2033	33.9	31
2034	34.2	31
2035	34.5	31.2
2036	34.8	31.3
2037	35.1	31.5
2038	35.5	31.6
2039	35.8	31.8
2040	36.1	32
2041	36.4	32.2
2042	36.7	32.3
2043	37	32.5
2044	37.3	32.6
2045	37.6	32.8
2046	37.9	32.9
2047	38.2	33
2048	38.5	33.1
2049	38.9	33.2
2050	39.2	33.3

In 1960, the median age in Panama was 17.8 years compared to 19 years in South Africa. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 30.9 years in Panama and to 29.5 years in South Africa.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Panama is expected to increased to around 39.2 years by 2050 compared to 33.3 years in South Africa. 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
	Panama		South Africa
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	4.04%	3.84%	4.65%	4.58%
5-9	4.39%	4.15%	4.19%	4.17%
10-14	4.34%	4.14%	4.16%	4.14%
15-19	4.14%	3.97%	4.21%	4.16%
20-24	4.03%	3.88%	4.04%	3.93%
25-29	3.89%	3.79%	4.34%	4.37%
30-34	3.73%	3.67%	4.42%	4.52%
35-39	3.58%	3.53%	4.2%	4.25%
40-44	3.31%	3.29%	3.64%	3.66%
45-49	3.02%	3.03%	2.77%	2.86%
50-54	2.82%	2.87%	2.18%	2.44%
55-59	2.47%	2.56%	1.76%	2.17%
60-64	2.02%	2.14%	1.51%	1.96%
65-69	1.55%	1.67%	1.14%	1.55%
70-74	1.14%	1.3%	0.74%	1.11%
75-79	0.76%	0.93%	0.36%	0.63%
80+	0.79%	1.23%	0.34%	0.81%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Panama has low demographic potential with 56% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 59.9% and average potential in South Africa.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Panama			South Africa
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	90.5%	84.2%	6.27%	83.4%	77.2%	6.22%
1961	91%	84.7%	6.3%	83.4%	77.2%	6.2%
1962	91.5%	85.2%	6.34%	83.4%	77.2%	6.18%
1963	92%	85.7%	6.37%	83.3%	77.1%	6.19%
1964	92.4%	86%	6.39%	83.3%	77.1%	6.22%
1965	92.6%	86.2%	6.41%	83.5%	77.2%	6.26%
1966	92.7%	86.3%	6.43%	83.8%	77.5%	6.32%
1967	92.7%	86.3%	6.45%	84%	77.7%	6.39%
1968	92.5%	86.1%	6.46%	84.3%	77.8%	6.46%
1969	92.2%	85.7%	6.47%	84.5%	77.9%	6.54%
1970	91.8%	85.3%	6.49%	84.6%	78%	6.61%
1971	91.3%	84.8%	6.5%	84.7%	78%	6.67%
1972	90.7%	84.2%	6.52%	84.6%	77.9%	6.72%
1973	90%	83.4%	6.54%	84.5%	77.7%	6.76%
1974	89%	82.5%	6.56%	84.3%	77.5%	6.79%
1975	87.9%	81.3%	6.59%	84%	77.2%	6.83%
1976	86.6%	80%	6.63%	83.7%	76.9%	6.85%
1977	85.2%	78.5%	6.67%	83.3%	76.4%	6.87%
1978	83.7%	76.9%	6.71%	82.6%	75.7%	6.88%
1979	82.1%	75.3%	6.75%	82%	75.1%	6.89%
1980	80.5%	73.7%	6.79%	80.9%	74%	6.88%
1981	78.9%	72.1%	6.84%	79.6%	72.7%	6.87%
1982	77.5%	70.6%	6.89%	78.4%	71.5%	6.88%
1983	76.1%	69.2%	6.93%	77.5%	70.6%	6.91%
1984	74.8%	67.8%	6.98%	76.7%	69.8%	6.95%
1985	73.5%	66.5%	7.02%	76%	69%	6.98%
1986	72.2%	65.2%	7.05%	75.2%	68.2%	6.98%
1987	71%	63.9%	7.09%	74.4%	67.4%	6.96%
1988	69.8%	62.7%	7.12%	73.5%	66.6%	6.93%
1989	68.7%	61.5%	7.16%	72.6%	65.7%	6.86%
1990	67.7%	60.5%	7.2%	71.5%	64.7%	6.78%
1991	66.7%	59.5%	7.24%	70.9%	64.1%	6.74%
1992	65.8%	58.6%	7.29%	71.1%	64.3%	6.82%
1993	65%	57.7%	7.35%	70.2%	63.4%	6.79%
1994	64.2%	56.8%	7.41%	70.2%	63.3%	6.89%
1995	63.4%	56%	7.47%	71.5%	64.3%	7.18%
1996	62.7%	55.1%	7.54%	72%	64.6%	7.46%
1997	61.9%	54.3%	7.61%	71.6%	63.9%	7.69%
1998	61.1%	53.4%	7.7%	69.8%	62%	7.79%
1999	60.3%	52.5%	7.79%	67.8%	60%	7.84%
2000	59.5%	51.7%	7.89%	65.7%	57.8%	7.87%
2001	58.9%	50.8%	8.01%	63.5%	55.7%	7.88%
2002	58.2%	50.1%	8.15%	61.4%	53.5%	7.88%
2003	57.7%	49.4%	8.3%	59.5%	51.6%	7.9%
2004	57.1%	48.7%	8.47%	57.9%	49.9%	7.93%
2005	56.7%	48%	8.65%	56.7%	48.7%	7.98%
2006	56.2%	47.4%	8.84%	55.7%	47.7%	8.03%
2007	55.8%	46.8%	9.05%	54.8%	46.8%	8.05%
2008	55.5%	46.3%	9.27%	54.2%	46.1%	8.07%
2009	55.2%	45.7%	9.5%	53.7%	45.6%	8.07%
2010	55%	45.2%	9.74%	53%	45%	8.03%
2011	54.8%	44.8%	9.99%	52.4%	44.4%	7.99%
2012	54.6%	44.3%	10.2%	51.9%	43.9%	7.97%
2013	54.4%	43.9%	10.5%	51.5%	43.5%	8.01%
2014	54.2%	43.5%	10.8%	51.1%	43.1%	8.06%
2015	54.1%	43%	11.1%	50.8%	42.7%	8.1%
2016	53.9%	42.6%	11.4%	51.1%	42.8%	8.27%
2017	53.8%	42.1%	11.7%	51.3%	42.8%	8.51%
2018	53.6%	41.6%	12%	50.7%	42%	8.7%
2019	53.4%	41%	12.4%	50.1%	41.2%	8.92%
2020	53.1%	40.4%	12.7%	49.5%	40.4%	9.13%
2021	52.8%	39.8%	13%	48.9%	39.6%	9.28%
2022	52.5%	39.2%	13.4%	48.6%	39.1%	9.45%
2023	52.3%	38.5%	13.8%	48.4%	38.7%	9.67%
2024	52.1%	37.9%	14.2%	48.3%	38.4%	9.92%

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 Panama decreased from 57.1% to 52.1% between 2004 and 2024.

In South Africa, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 57.9% to 48.3% 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
	Panama	South Africa
1960	52.5%	54.5%
1961	52.4%	54.5%
1962	52.2%	54.5%
1963	52.1%	54.6%
1964	52%	54.6%
1965	51.9%	54.5%
1966	51.9%	54.4%
1967	51.9%	54.3%
1968	51.9%	54.3%
1969	52%	54.2%
1970	52.1%	54.2%
1971	52.3%	54.2%
1972	52.4%	54.2%
1973	52.6%	54.2%
1974	52.9%	54.3%
1975	53.2%	54.3%
1976	53.6%	54.4%
1977	54%	54.6%
1978	54.4%	54.8%
1979	54.9%	55%
1980	55.4%	55.3%
1981	55.9%	55.7%
1982	56.3%	56.1%
1983	56.8%	56.3%
1984	57.2%	56.6%
1985	57.6%	56.8%
1986	58.1%	57.1%
1987	58.5%	57.3%
1988	58.9%	57.6%
1989	59.3%	57.9%
1990	59.6%	58.3%
1991	60%	58.5%
1992	60.3%	58.4%
1993	60.6%	58.8%
1994	60.9%	58.8%
1995	61.2%	58.3%
1996	61.5%	58.1%
1997	61.8%	58.3%
1998	62.1%	58.9%
1999	62.4%	59.6%
2000	62.7%	60.3%
2001	63%	61.1%
2002	63.2%	62%
2003	63.4%	62.7%
2004	63.6%	63.3%
2005	63.8%	63.8%
2006	64%	64.2%
2007	64.2%	64.6%
2008	64.3%	64.9%
2009	64.4%	65.1%
2010	64.5%	65.3%
2011	64.6%	65.6%
2012	64.7%	65.8%
2013	64.8%	66%
2014	64.8%	66.2%
2015	64.9%	66.3%
2016	65%	66.2%
2017	65%	66.1%
2018	65.1%	66.4%
2019	65.2%	66.6%
2020	65.3%	66.9%
2021	65.4%	67.2%
2022	65.6%	67.3%
2023	65.7%	67.4%
2024	65.8%	67.4%
2025	65.8%	67.4%
2026	65.9%	67.3%
2027	65.9%	67.3%
2028	66%	67.2%
2029	66%	67.2%
2030	66%	67.1%
2031	66%	67%
2032	66%	67%
2033	65.9%	67.1%
2034	65.8%	67.2%
2035	65.7%	67.4%
2036	65.5%	67.6%
2037	65.3%	67.7%
2038	65.1%	67.9%
2039	64.9%	68%
2040	64.7%	68.1%
2041	64.5%	68.1%
2042	64.4%	68.2%
2043	64.2%	68.2%
2044	64.1%	68.1%
2045	63.9%	68%
2046	63.7%	67.9%
2047	63.6%	67.8%
2048	63.4%	67.6%
2049	63.2%	67.4%
2050	63.1%	67.2%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 63.6% to 65.8% in Panama and from 63.3% to 67.4% in South Africa.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Panama	South Africa
1960	44.2%	42.1%
1961	44.3%	42.1%
1962	44.5%	42.1%
1963	44.6%	42.1%
1964	44.7%	42.1%
1965	44.8%	42.1%
1966	44.8%	42.1%
1967	44.8%	42.2%
1968	44.7%	42.2%
1969	44.6%	42.2%
1970	44.5%	42.3%
1971	44.3%	42.2%
1972	44.1%	42.2%
1973	43.9%	42.1%
1974	43.6%	42%
1975	43.3%	41.9%
1976	42.9%	41.8%
1977	42.4%	41.7%
1978	41.9%	41.5%
1979	41.4%	41.3%
1980	40.8%	40.9%
1981	40.3%	40.5%
1982	39.8%	40.1%
1983	39.3%	39.8%
1984	38.8%	39.5%
1985	38.3%	39.2%
1986	37.8%	38.9%
1987	37.4%	38.7%
1988	36.9%	38.4%
1989	36.5%	38.1%
1990	36.1%	37.7%
1991	35.7%	37.5%
1992	35.3%	37.6%
1993	34.9%	37.3%
1994	34.6%	37.2%
1995	34.2%	37.5%
1996	33.9%	37.5%
1997	33.5%	37.2%
1998	33.1%	36.5%
1999	32.8%	35.7%
2000	32.4%	34.9%
2001	32%	34%
2002	31.6%	33.2%
2003	31.3%	32.3%
2004	31%	31.6%
2005	30.6%	31.1%
2006	30.3%	30.6%
2007	30%	30.2%
2008	29.7%	29.9%
2009	29.5%	29.7%
2010	29.2%	29.4%
2011	28.9%	29.1%
2012	28.7%	28.9%
2013	28.4%	28.7%
2014	28.2%	28.5%
2015	27.9%	28.3%
2016	27.6%	28.3%
2017	27.4%	28.3%
2018	27.1%	27.9%
2019	26.7%	27.4%
2020	26.4%	27%
2021	26%	26.6%
2022	25.7%	26.3%
2023	25.3%	26.1%
2024	24.9%	25.9%
2025	24.5%	25.7%
2026	24.1%	25.6%
2027	23.8%	25.4%
2028	23.4%	25.3%
2029	23%	25.2%
2030	22.6%	25.2%
2031	22.2%	25.1%
2032	21.9%	25%
2033	21.6%	24.8%
2034	21.3%	24.5%
2035	21%	24.3%
2036	20.9%	23.9%
2037	20.7%	23.6%
2038	20.5%	23.4%
2039	20.3%	23.1%
2040	20.1%	22.9%
2041	20%	22.7%
2042	19.8%	22.5%
2043	19.6%	22.4%
2044	19.4%	22.2%
2045	19.3%	22.1%
2046	19.1%	21.9%
2047	18.9%	21.8%
2048	18.8%	21.7%
2049	18.6%	21.6%
2050	18.4%	21.5%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 24.9% in Panama and 25.9% in South Africa. Birth rates in Panama compared to South Africa .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Panama	South Africa
1960	3.29%	3.39%
1961	3.3%	3.38%
1962	3.31%	3.37%
1963	3.32%	3.38%
1964	3.32%	3.39%
1965	3.33%	3.41%
1966	3.34%	3.44%
1967	3.35%	3.47%
1968	3.36%	3.51%
1969	3.37%	3.54%
1970	3.38%	3.58%
1971	3.4%	3.61%
1972	3.42%	3.64%
1973	3.44%	3.66%
1974	3.47%	3.69%
1975	3.51%	3.71%
1976	3.55%	3.73%
1977	3.6%	3.75%
1978	3.65%	3.77%
1979	3.71%	3.79%
1980	3.76%	3.8%
1981	3.82%	3.83%
1982	3.88%	3.86%
1983	3.94%	3.89%
1984	3.99%	3.93%
1985	4.04%	3.97%
1986	4.1%	3.98%
1987	4.14%	3.99%
1988	4.19%	3.99%
1989	4.24%	3.98%
1990	4.29%	3.95%
1991	4.34%	3.95%
1992	4.4%	3.99%
1993	4.45%	3.99%
1994	4.51%	4.05%
1995	4.57%	4.19%
1996	4.63%	4.34%
1997	4.7%	4.48%
1998	4.78%	4.59%
1999	4.86%	4.67%
2000	4.95%	4.75%
2001	5.04%	4.82%
2002	5.15%	4.88%
2003	5.27%	4.95%
2004	5.39%	5.02%
2005	5.52%	5.1%
2006	5.66%	5.15%
2007	5.81%	5.2%
2008	5.96%	5.24%
2009	6.12%	5.25%
2010	6.29%	5.25%
2011	6.46%	5.24%
2012	6.63%	5.25%
2013	6.81%	5.29%
2014	7%	5.33%
2015	7.2%	5.37%
2016	7.4%	5.47%
2017	7.61%	5.63%
2018	7.83%	5.78%
2019	8.07%	5.95%
2020	8.29%	6.11%
2021	8.51%	6.23%
2022	8.77%	6.36%
2023	9.06%	6.52%
2024	9.35%	6.69%
2025	9.66%	6.89%
2026	9.98%	7.08%
2027	10.3%	7.26%
2028	10.7%	7.44%
2029	11%	7.61%
2030	11.4%	7.76%
2031	11.8%	7.89%
2032	12.2%	8.01%
2033	12.5%	8.14%
2034	12.9%	8.26%
2035	13.3%	8.39%
2036	13.7%	8.52%
2037	14.1%	8.64%
2038	14.4%	8.76%
2039	14.8%	8.88%
2040	15.2%	9.01%
2041	15.5%	9.15%
2042	15.8%	9.3%
2043	16.2%	9.48%
2044	16.5%	9.68%
2045	16.8%	9.9%
2046	17.2%	10.1%
2047	17.5%	10.4%
2048	17.8%	10.7%
2049	18.2%	11%
2050	18.5%	11.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 9.35% in Panama and 6.69% in South Africa. Life expectancy in Panama compared to South Africa .