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Children, young and elderly in the World

Population by age

When studying the volume of people in the world, an important fact is to establish how many of them are children, youth and adults, because it influences work life, education and health services. For example, a population with a majority of young people should be emphasized in the education system. Not long ago, in 2014, the largest proportion of the world's population corresponded to people aged 25 to 54 (40.78%), followed by children aged 0 to 14 (25.79%). The 15-24 years old group corresponded to 16.61%. The groups of 55 to 64 years and over 65 years had just over 8% each.

Distribution by continents

In almost every continent the percentage of the population between 15 and 64 the vary between 65 and 68% of the total. In Africa the percentage is lower (55%). Instead, the groups younger and older make a difference greatly. While in Europe, the group of 0 to 14 years (children) corresponds to 15.6%, in Africa it is 41.7%. In other words, while Europe has a few child population, Africa in a proportion almost reaches the middle. Therefore, it is a very young continent.

Social consequences

The age structure or distribution of the population has a great influence on the social reality of the continents, regions and countries. The one with more children and young people or more adults affects the way in which the Society is organized and faces its needs. Countries with the highest percentage of young people (with a high percentage of children under 15 years) have to invest more in the education system, they must build more schools, while countries with elderly populations (high percentage of 65 years or more) invest more in the health sector and in services for the elderly.

Life expectancy

The different proportions of the groups of age, or age groups, can be explained largely by means of two important factors: the levels of birth and mortality of each continent. The African continent is the one with the highest level of birth (4.7 average children per mother) and at the same time the lowest life expectancy at birth (59.5 years). Something very different happens with the European continent, where the lowest birth indicator is found (1.6 average children per mother) and one of the highest life expectations at birth at the level of continents (77.0).

Specific cases

The study of the world population is enriched if some cases that allow comparison are compared. The countries with the highest number average number of children per woman (over 6) found in Africa: Niger (7.6), Somalia (6.6), Mali (6.4), Chad (6.3), Angola (6.3), Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.2) and Burundi (6.1). In the opposite situation are countries that hardly surpass one child per woman, such as Macao (1,1), Hong Kong (1,2), Singapore (1,2) and Republic of Korea (1,2).