Median Age Board Screensaver
The Median Age Board screensaver shows the world's oldest and youngest populations side by side — half the board is the highest median ages, half the lowest — parsed browser-direct from Our World in Data's UN World Population Prospects dataset. It's free, needs an internet connection, and ESC exits.
How the Median Age Board screensaver works
The saver downloads Our World in Data's median-age.csv grapher file (about 1MB, key-less and CORS-enabled) straight into the browser.
It keeps only observed values — rows with a real Median age figure and a 3-letter ISO code — and takes each country's latest year, currently 2023; the projections column is ignored.
The top half of the board is the oldest societies, the bottom half the youngest, with a divider counting the countries skipped in between.
It refreshes hourly, though the UN dataset itself is revised only every couple of years.
A worked example
The contrast is the point: Japan and Italy sit near 48–49 years while Niger and the Central African Republic are under 16 — a three-decade gap in the age of the typical person. Run it beside the Net Migration Board in Multi-view and the demographic story tells itself.
Settings & tips
- Rows per side — how many countries to show in each half (4–12).
- The oldest half draws in a stronger accent tone than the youngest half, so the two blocks read at a glance.
- Entries include territories with ISO codes — Vatican, Monaco and Saint Helena legitimately top the oldest list.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real data?
- Yes — median age estimates from the UN's World Population Prospects, served by Our World in Data's public grapher CSV and parsed in your browser.
- Is a key needed?
- No. The Our World in Data CSV endpoint is public, key-less and CORS-enabled.
- Does it work offline?
- No. It downloads the CSV from Our World in Data, so it needs an internet connection; offline it shows a short notice.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
- Are these projections?
- No. The dataset carries both observed and projected columns, and this board deliberately uses only the observed one — the latest real estimate per country, currently 2023.