Vanuatu Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Vanuatu vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Vanuatu	World
1960	17.7	22.5
1961	17.6	22.5
1962	17.5	22.4
1963	17.4	22.2
1964	17.3	22
1965	17.2	21.8
1966	17.1	21.7
1967	17.1	21.6
1968	17	21.5
1969	17	21.5
1970	17	21.4
1971	17	21.4
1972	17	21.5
1973	17	21.5
1974	17.1	21.6
1975	17.1	21.7
1976	17.1	21.9
1977	17.2	22
1978	17.3	22.2
1979	17.5	22.3
1980	17.6	22.5
1981	17.7	22.6
1982	17.7	22.7
1983	17.7	22.9
1984	17.7	23
1985	17.7	23.2
1986	17.8	23.3
1987	17.8	23.4
1988	17.8	23.6
1989	17.8	23.8
1990	17.8	23.9
1991	17.9	24.1
1992	17.8	24.3
1993	17.7	24.5
1994	17.7	24.7
1995	17.8	25
1996	18	25.2
1997	18	25.4
1998	18	25.7
1999	18	25.9
2000	18.2	26.1
2001	18.5	26.3
2002	18.7	26.5
2003	18.9	26.7
2004	19.2	27
2005	19.4	27.2
2006	19.6	27.4
2007	19.9	27.6
2008	20.1	27.8
2009	20.3	28
2010	20.5	28.2
2011	20.6	28.4
2012	20.8	28.6
2013	20.9	28.9
2014	21	29.1
2015	21.1	29.3
2016	21.1	29.5
2017	21.2	29.8
2018	21.2	30
2019	21.2	30.3
2020	21.2	30.6
2021	21.2	30.8
2022	21.2	31
2023	21.2	31.3
2024	21.3	31.6
2025	21.3	31.9
2026	21.4	32.1
2027	21.5	32.3
2028	21.6	32.6
2029	21.7	32.8
2030	21.9	33
2031	22.1	33.2
2032	22.3	33.4
2033	22.5	33.6
2034	22.8	33.8
2035	23	34
2036	23.2	34.2
2037	23.5	34.4
2038	23.7	34.6
2039	23.9	34.8
2040	24.2	35
2041	24.4	35.2
2042	24.6	35.4
2043	24.8	35.6
2044	25	35.8
2045	25.3	36
2046	25.5	36.2
2047	25.7	36.4
2048	25.9	36.6
2049	26.1	36.8
2050	26.2	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Vanuatu was 17.7 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 21.3 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 156th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Vanuatu ranks 156th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Vanuatu is expected to increase to around 26.2 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Vanuatu demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Vanuatu
	Male	Female
0-4	6.95%	6.51%
5-9	6.73%	6.34%
10-14	6.06%	5.72%
15-19	4.97%	4.71%
20-24	3.99%	3.98%
25-29	3.6%	3.92%
30-34	3.57%	3.91%
35-39	3.18%	3.39%
40-44	2.59%	2.72%
45-49	1.99%	1.7%
50-54	2.05%	1.75%
55-59	1.53%	1.43%
60-64	1.17%	1.26%
65-69	0.84%	1%
70-74	0.59%	0.64%
75-79	0.37%	0.31%
80+	0.31%	0.23%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Vanuatu has average demographic potential with 71% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 45/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Vanuatu			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	93.6%	86.3%	7.35%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	94%	87%	7.06%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	94.3%	87.5%	6.78%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	94.4%	87.9%	6.5%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	94.5%	88.2%	6.23%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	94.6%	88.6%	5.98%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	94.7%	89%	5.76%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	94.8%	89.2%	5.58%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	95.2%	89.5%	5.71%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	95.6%	89.6%	6.03%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	95.7%	89.5%	6.2%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	95.6%	89.3%	6.24%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	95.2%	89%	6.17%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	94.7%	88.6%	6.02%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	94%	88.2%	5.82%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	93.2%	87.6%	5.6%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	92.5%	87.1%	5.38%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	91.7%	86.5%	5.2%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	91%	85.9%	5.07%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	93.5%	86%	7.47%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	95.8%	86.1%	9.69%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	94.8%	85.5%	9.24%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	94.3%	85.4%	8.88%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	94%	85.4%	8.56%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	93.7%	85.4%	8.28%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	93.4%	85.4%	8.03%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	93.1%	85.3%	7.81%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	92.6%	85%	7.6%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	92%	84.6%	7.41%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	91.4%	84.2%	7.24%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	90.8%	83.7%	7.03%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	90.2%	83.4%	6.77%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	90.7%	84.1%	6.56%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	93%	86.5%	6.43%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	94%	87.7%	6.26%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	92.9%	86.9%	6.04%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	91.6%	85.8%	5.83%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	89.9%	84.3%	5.63%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	88.1%	82.7%	5.44%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	86.2%	81%	5.26%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	84.3%	79.2%	5.15%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	82.4%	77.3%	5.1%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	80.6%	75.5%	5.06%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	78.8%	73.8%	5.04%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	77.1%	72.1%	5.04%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	75.5%	70.5%	5.06%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	74.1%	69%	5.09%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	72.8%	67.7%	5.14%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	71.8%	66.6%	5.2%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	71.1%	65.8%	5.31%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	70.8%	65.3%	5.48%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	70.8%	65.2%	5.67%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	71.2%	65.3%	5.87%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	71.7%	65.7%	6.07%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	72.5%	66.2%	6.28%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	73.2%	66.7%	6.47%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	73.9%	67.3%	6.65%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	74.6%	67.8%	6.79%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	75.1%	68.2%	6.89%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	75.5%	68.4%	7.03%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	75.6%	68.5%	7.13%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	75.6%	68.4%	7.19%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	75.4%	68.1%	7.28%	54%	39%	15%
2023	74.9%	67.5%	7.38%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	74.2%	66.8%	7.49%	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 Vanuatu decreased from 77.1% to 74.2% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Vanuatu working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Vanuatu	World
1960	51.6%	57.6%
1961	51.5%	57.5%
1962	51.5%	57.4%
1963	51.4%	57.2%
1964	51.4%	57%
1965	51.4%	56.9%
1966	51.4%	56.8%
1967	51.3%	56.9%
1968	51.2%	56.9%
1969	51.1%	56.9%
1970	51.1%	57%
1971	51.1%	57.1%
1972	51.2%	57.2%
1973	51.4%	57.3%
1974	51.5%	57.3%
1975	51.7%	57.4%
1976	52%	57.5%
1977	52.2%	57.7%
1978	52.4%	58%
1979	51.7%	58.4%
1980	51.1%	58.7%
1981	51.3%	59%
1982	51.5%	59.3%
1983	51.5%	59.6%
1984	51.6%	59.9%
1985	51.7%	60.1%
1986	51.8%	60.4%
1987	51.9%	60.5%
1988	52.1%	60.7%
1989	52.2%	60.8%
1990	52.4%	60.9%
1991	52.6%	61%
1992	52.4%	61.1%
1993	51.8%	61.2%
1994	51.5%	61.3%
1995	51.8%	61.5%
1996	52.2%	61.7%
1997	52.6%	61.9%
1998	53.2%	62.2%
1999	53.7%	62.5%
2000	54.3%	62.8%
2001	54.8%	63.1%
2002	55.4%	63.4%
2003	55.9%	63.7%
2004	56.5%	64%
2005	57%	64.3%
2006	57.4%	64.5%
2007	57.9%	64.7%
2008	58.2%	64.9%
2009	58.4%	65%
2010	58.6%	65.1%
2011	58.5%	65.2%
2012	58.4%	65.2%
2013	58.2%	65.2%
2014	58%	65.2%
2015	57.7%	65.1%
2016	57.5%	65.1%
2017	57.3%	65%
2018	57.1%	64.9%
2019	57%	64.9%
2020	56.9%	64.8%
2021	56.9%	64.9%
2022	57%	64.9%
2023	57.2%	65%
2024	57.4%	65.1%
2025	57.7%	65.2%
2026	58%	65.3%
2027	58.3%	65.4%
2028	58.6%	65.4%
2029	59%	65.4%
2030	59.4%	65.4%
2031	59.7%	65.4%
2032	60.1%	65.4%
2033	60.4%	65.4%
2034	60.7%	65.3%
2035	61%	65.2%
2036	61.2%	65%
2037	61.3%	64.9%
2038	61.5%	64.7%
2039	61.5%	64.6%
2040	61.6%	64.5%
2041	61.7%	64.4%
2042	61.8%	64.3%
2043	62.1%	64.2%
2044	62.3%	64.1%
2045	62.4%	63.9%
2046	62.4%	63.8%
2047	62.4%	63.7%
2048	62.5%	63.6%
2049	62.5%	63.4%
2050	62.5%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Vanuatu changed from 56.5% to 57.4% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Vanuatu	World
1960	44.6%	37.4%
1961	44.8%	37.5%
1962	45.1%	37.6%
1963	45.2%	37.8%
1964	45.4%	38%
1965	45.5%	38%
1966	45.7%	38%
1967	45.8%	38%
1968	45.8%	37.9%
1969	45.8%	37.8%
1970	45.7%	37.7%
1971	45.7%	37.6%
1972	45.6%	37.5%
1973	45.5%	37.3%
1974	45.5%	37.2%
1975	45.4%	37.1%
1976	45.2%	36.9%
1977	45.1%	36.7%
1978	45%	36.3%
1979	44.5%	35.9%
1980	44%	35.5%
1981	43.9%	35.2%
1982	44%	34.9%
1983	44%	34.6%
1984	44.1%	34.3%
1985	44.2%	34%
1986	44.2%	33.8%
1987	44.1%	33.6%
1988	44.1%	33.4%
1989	44%	33.2%
1990	43.9%	33%
1991	43.9%	32.9%
1992	44.1%	32.7%
1993	44.8%	32.5%
1994	45.2%	32.3%
1995	45%	32.1%
1996	44.8%	31.8%
1997	44.4%	31.5%
1998	44%	31.1%
1999	43.5%	30.8%
2000	42.9%	30.4%
2001	42.4%	30%
2002	41.8%	29.6%
2003	41.3%	29.2%
2004	40.7%	28.8%
2005	40.2%	28.5%
2006	39.6%	28.1%
2007	39.2%	27.9%
2008	38.8%	27.6%
2009	38.5%	27.5%
2010	38.2%	27.3%
2011	38.1%	27.1%
2012	38.2%	27%
2013	38.2%	26.9%
2014	38.4%	26.8%
2015	38.5%	26.6%
2016	38.7%	26.5%
2017	38.8%	26.4%
2018	38.9%	26.2%
2019	39%	26%
2020	39%	25.8%
2021	39%	25.6%
2022	38.8%	25.3%
2023	38.6%	25%
2024	38.3%	24.7%
2025	38%	24.4%
2026	37.6%	24.1%
2027	37.1%	23.8%
2028	36.7%	23.4%
2029	36.2%	23.1%
2030	35.8%	22.8%
2031	35.3%	22.6%
2032	34.9%	22.3%
2033	34.5%	22.1%
2034	34.1%	21.9%
2035	33.7%	21.7%
2036	33.4%	21.6%
2037	33.2%	21.5%
2038	32.9%	21.4%
2039	32.7%	21.3%
2040	32.5%	21.2%
2041	32.3%	21.1%
2042	32.2%	21%
2043	32%	21%
2044	31.8%	20.9%
2045	31.6%	20.8%
2046	31.5%	20.7%
2047	31.3%	20.7%
2048	31.1%	20.6%
2049	30.9%	20.5%
2050	30.6%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Vanuatu decreased from 40.7% to 38.3% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Vanuatu	World
1960	3.79%	4.97%
1961	3.64%	4.99%
1962	3.49%	5.01%
1963	3.34%	5.02%
1964	3.2%	5.04%
1965	3.07%	5.08%
1966	2.96%	5.12%
1967	2.87%	5.16%
1968	2.93%	5.2%
1969	3.08%	5.24%
1970	3.17%	5.28%
1971	3.19%	5.32%
1972	3.16%	5.37%
1973	3.09%	5.42%
1974	3%	5.47%
1975	2.9%	5.53%
1976	2.8%	5.59%
1977	2.71%	5.65%
1978	2.66%	5.71%
1979	3.86%	5.77%
1980	4.95%	5.81%
1981	4.75%	5.81%
1982	4.57%	5.8%
1983	4.41%	5.79%
1984	4.28%	5.8%
1985	4.15%	5.82%
1986	4.05%	5.86%
1987	3.95%	5.91%
1988	3.86%	5.95%
1989	3.78%	6.01%
1990	3.68%	6.07%
1991	3.56%	6.14%
1992	3.44%	6.21%
1993	3.33%	6.29%
1994	3.23%	6.37%
1995	3.13%	6.45%
1996	3.04%	6.53%
1997	2.96%	6.61%
1998	2.89%	6.68%
1999	2.82%	6.76%
2000	2.79%	6.84%
2001	2.8%	6.92%
2002	2.8%	7.01%
2003	2.82%	7.1%
2004	2.85%	7.18%
2005	2.88%	7.26%
2006	2.93%	7.34%
2007	2.97%	7.41%
2008	3.03%	7.47%
2009	3.1%	7.52%
2010	3.21%	7.58%
2011	3.32%	7.66%
2012	3.43%	7.78%
2013	3.54%	7.92%
2014	3.64%	8.08%
2015	3.74%	8.26%
2016	3.83%	8.45%
2017	3.89%	8.65%
2018	3.94%	8.88%
2019	4.01%	9.1%
2020	4.06%	9.33%
2021	4.1%	9.53%
2022	4.15%	9.74%
2023	4.22%	9.98%
2024	4.3%	10.2%
2025	4.38%	10.4%
2026	4.47%	10.6%
2027	4.56%	10.8%
2028	4.65%	11.1%
2029	4.75%	11.5%
2030	4.85%	11.7%
2031	4.94%	12%
2032	5.02%	12.3%
2033	5.1%	12.6%
2034	5.18%	12.8%
2035	5.28%	13.1%
2036	5.39%	13.4%
2037	5.5%	13.7%
2038	5.63%	13.9%
2039	5.75%	14.1%
2040	5.87%	14.3%
2041	5.98%	14.5%
2042	6%	14.7%
2043	5.89%	14.9%
2044	5.87%	15%
2045	5.99%	15.2%
2046	6.12%	15.4%
2047	6.27%	15.7%
2048	6.44%	15.9%
2049	6.61%	16.1%
2050	6.81%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Vanuatu increased from 2.85% to 4.3% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.