When President Biden, 81, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, 78, take the debate stage Thursday, they’ll be making history as the two oldest major-party candidates in American history to vie for the Oval Office. They are also both at least 16 years older than the median age of world leaders.
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Distribution of ages
Few world leaders are as old
as Trump and Biden …
Age distribution of world leaders in 2024
World leaders
median age
62
Although most are still significantly
older than the populations they serve
Median population age of each country in 2024
Few world leaders are as old
as Trump and Biden …
Age distribution of world leaders in 2024
World leaders
median age
62
Although most are still significantly
older than the populations they serve
Median population age of each country in 2024
Few world leaders are as old as Trump and Biden …
Age distribution of world leaders in 2024
World leaders
median age
62
Although most are still significantly older
than the populations they serve
Median population age of each country in 2024
Few world leaders are as old as Trump and Biden …
Age distribution of world leaders in 2024
World leaders
median age
62
Although most are still significantly older
than the populations they serve
Median population age of each country in 2024
It’s no surprise that world leaders are often older than the people they govern. In democracies, age requirements to run, costly campaigns and incentives to gain experience and clout in political spheres mean it can take a long time for candidates to reach the top job. Dictators can stay in power for long periods. This leaves large parts of the world with major gaps between the age of their leaders and their populations. The median age difference between a country’s leader and its population is 32 years.
World
Most of the world has major
gaps between the age of leaders
and their populations
Each line represents a country.
A triangle indicates the country’s population median age
A circle indicates the age of the country’s leader
We found Cameroon had the biggest gap (73.2 years) between its leader and its constituents.
Keep scrolling to see President Paul Biya’s age.
Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré is the youngest world leader at 36 years old. The country’s median population age is 17.
“The composition of these societies don’t reflect the composition of the politicians.”
Daniel Stockemer, political scientist who studies age discrepancies in politics.
30.7
Median world
population
The U.S. Constitution states that the president must be at least 35 years old
Montenegro and
Ireland are two of three countries with leaders younger than their populations’ median age.
38.3 years old
America’s median population age is 42.7 years younger than its president’s age.
Italy is the third of three countries with a leader younger than its population’s median age, which is 48. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is 47.
At 54, Monaco has the highest median population age. Its leader, Prince Albert II is 66.
62
Median world
leader’s age
The median age gap between world leaders and their population is 32 years.
78 years old
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is just three years younger than President Biden.
81 years old
President Biden is the ninth oldest world leader.
91 years old
Paul Biya, president of Cameroon, is the oldest world leader.
Most of the world has major
gaps between the age of leaders
and their populations
Each line represents a country.
A triangle indicates the country’s population median age
A circle indicates the age of the country’s leader
We found Cameroon had the biggest gap (73.2 years) between its leader and its constituents.
Keep scrolling to see President Paul Biya’s age.
Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré is the youngest world leader at 36 years old. The country’s median population age is 17.
“The composition of these societies don’t reflect the composition of the politicians.”
Daniel Stockemer, political scientist who studies age discrepancies in politics.
30.7
Median world
population
The U.S. Constitution states that the president must be at least 35 years old
Montenegro and
Ireland are two of three countries with leaders younger than their populations’ median age.
38.3 years old
America’s median population age is 42.7 years younger than its president’s age.
Italy is the third of three countries with a leader younger than its population’s median age, which is 48. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is 47.
At 54, Monaco has the highest median population age. Its leader, Prince Albert II is 66.
62
Median world
leader’s age
The median age gap between world leaders and their population is 32 years.
78 years old
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is just three years younger than President Biden.
81 years old
President Biden is the ninth oldest world leader.
91 years old
Paul Biya, president of Cameroon, is the oldest world leader.
Most of the world has major gaps between
the age of leaders and their populations
Each line represents a country.
A triangle indicates the country’s population median age
A circle indicates the age of the country’s leader
The Central African Republic has the youngest median population age at 14.9. Its president is 67.
We found Cameroon had the biggest gap (73.2 years) between its leader and its constituents.
Keep scrolling to see President Paul Biya’s age.
Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré is the youngest world leader at 36 years old. The country’s median population age is 17.
“The composition of these societies don’t reflect the composition of the politicians.”
Daniel Stockemer, political scientist who studies age discrepancies in politics.
30.7
Median world
population
The U.S. Constitution states that the president must be at least 35 years old
Montenegro and
Ireland are two of three countries with leaders younger than their populations’ median age.
38.3 years old
America’s median population age is
42.7 years younger than its president’s age.
Italy is the third of three countries with a leader younger than its population’s median age, which is 48. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is 47.
At 54, Monaco has the highest median population age. Its leader, Prince Albert II is 66.
62
Median world
leader’s age
The median age gap between world leaders and their population is 32 years.
78 years old
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is just three years younger than President Biden.
81 years old
President Biden is the ninth oldest world leader.
91 years old
Paul Biya, president of Cameroon, is the oldest world leader.
Most of the world has major gaps between
the age of leaders and their populations
Each line represents a country.
A triangle indicates the country’s population median age
A circle indicates the age of the country’s leader
The Central African Republic has the youngest median population age at 14.9. Its president is 67.
We found Cameroon had the biggest gap (73.2 years) between its leader and its constituents.
Keep scrolling to see President Paul Biya’s age.
Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré is the youngest world leader at 36 years old. The country’s median population age is 17.
“The composition of these societies don’t reflect the composition of the politicians.”
Daniel Stockemer, political scientist who studies age discrepancies in politics.
30.7
Median world population
The U.S. Constitution states that the president must be at least 35 years old
Montenegro and
Ireland are two of three countries with leaders younger than their populations’ median age.
38.3 years old
America’s median population age is
42.7 years younger than its president’s age.
Italy is the third of three countries with a leader younger than its population’s median age, which is 48. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is 47.
At 54, Monaco has the highest median population age. Its leader, Prince Albert II is 66.
62
Median world leader’s age
The median age gap between world leaders and their population is 32 years.
78 years old
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is just three years younger than President Biden.
81 years old
President Biden is the ninth oldest world leader.
91 years old
Paul Biya, president of Cameroon, is the oldest world leader.
Europe appears to be bucking this trend. Countries there have some of the smallest gaps between their leaders and their populations. Its heads of state, including French President Emmanuel Macron, 46, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, 46, and Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris, 37, skew so young that even a candidate in their early 60s can cause a stir.
At the start of Britain’s general election campaign in May, Conservative Party members appeared to take jabs at Labour leader Keir Starmer’s age — right out of the Trump playbook — calling him “Sir Sleepy” and “Sleepy Keir.”
At 61, Starmer is younger than 62, the median age for global leaders, according to Pew Research Center, and 20 years younger than Biden.
2024 age gaps of leaders and their populations
map legend
Europe’s leaders are younger because established parties have declined in popularity in recent decades, said Jan Berz, a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Political Science at Goethe University Frankfurt. This “has provided opportunities for younger politicians to create new political parties and enter office.” Macron, for example, founded his party shortly before becoming president at the age of 39.
Parliamentary elections, where leaders are elected by politicians, tend to favor candidates with charisma and communication skills rather than experience, Berz added.
But how important is age in politics? Well, it’s complicated.
How old leaders are could affect the issues they focus on, said Daniel Stockemer, a professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa. He noted gun control, climate action and marijuana legalization were some of the issues older leaders in the United States are less committed to.
It’s a matter of relating to public figures, too.
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“I wouldn’t even say Joe Biden is doing nothing for the young,” Stockemer said. “But there needs to be this emotional connection.”
Globally, young people are becoming more dissatisfied with democracy, according to a 2020 study from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University.
World average gap
The world is
getting older
The world is
getting older
The world is
getting older
In the United States, presidents tend to be older because of the way the U.S. political system works, said Kevin Munger, a professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University. America’s two-party system, Munger said, “means that you have to basically work within the party in order to advance to the point where you can actually become the nominee.”
He noted that in the case of former president Barack Obama’s election at 47, his youth and short time in national politics made his success a surprise. It’s also what may have driven young voters to be, as a 2008 Pew Survey put it, “unusually active in the campaign.”
Talking about age, especially in U.S. politics, can be sensitive, often coming with undertones of mental fitness. Trump has repeatedly brought up the age of Biden, or as Trump calls him, “Sleepy Joe.”
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“The guy doesn’t even know he’s alive,” Trump said while campaigning in the summer of 2020. As his 78th birthday loomed — the age Biden was when he was first inaugurated — Trump walked back his messaging, saying on Truth Social in May, “JOE BIDEN IS NOT TOO OLD TO BE PRESIDENT—NOT EVEN CLOSE…”
On June 14, Biden posted on the X platform wishing Trump a happy 78th birthday. “Take it from one old guy to another: Age is just a number,” he said.
Stockemer said it’s not about cognition, but rather it’s about representation. “If we are concerned about the quality of democracy, if we are concerned about the low engagement of young people,” he said, “this should be a topic we should discuss.”
US Presidents
Age gaps between
U.S. presidents and
the U.S. population
President’s age
65, Harry S.
Truman
In Ronald Reagan’s second term, the gap between population median age and the president’s age was the biggest in the last 75 years.
Barack Obama had the smallest gap in his first year in office (11.1 years).
Joe Biden is the oldest U.S. president ever, but the gap is three years smaller than it was with Reagan.
Age gaps between U.S. presidents
and the U.S. population
President’s age
65, Harry S.
Truman
In Ronald Reagan’s second term, the gap between population median age and the president’s age was the biggest in the last 75 years.
Barack Obama had the smallest gap in his first year in office (11.1 years).
Joe Biden is the oldest U.S. president ever, but the gap is three years smaller than it was with Reagan.
Age gaps between U.S. presidents
and the U.S. population
Median population age
29.3
President’s age
65, Harry S. Truman
In Ronald Reagan’s second term, the gap between population median age and the president’s age was the biggest in the last 75 years.
Barack Obama had the smallest gap in his first year in office (11.1 years).
Joe Biden is the oldest U.S. president ever, but the gap is three years smaller than it was with Reagan.
Large age gaps between leaders and their population are especially significant in countries that are not free as described by Freedom House. Some of these are African countries, including Uganda and Cameroon, where at least half of the population is under 18, according to United Nations estimates, but their leaders are 79 and 91, respectively.
The disparity sparked the #nottooyoungtorun movement, which originated in Nigeria in 2016, and became a global push to make it easier for younger people to run for office.
Scatter
United States
Joe Biden, 81
Younger than
the population
Montenegro, Ireland and Italy are the only countries with leaders younger than their median population age.
Younger than
the population
United States
Joe Biden, 81
Montenegro, Ireland and Italy are the only countries with leaders younger than their median population age.
Younger than
the population
United States
Joe Biden, 81
Montenegro, Ireland and Italy are the only countries with leaders younger than their median population age.
The age gap between America’s leaders and constituents doesn’t stop in the Oval Office: The U.S. Congress is also much older than parliaments around the world.
Congress
Age distribution of
U.S. Congress over time
In 1981, 22.3 percent of the U.S. representatives were younger than 40 years old
… and just 14.7 percent were older than 60 years old
In the current term,
just 8.3 percent of the
U.S. representatives were younger than 40 years old…
… and 43.1 percent were older than 60 years old.
… and just 21.0 percent were older than 60 years old.
While worldwide, 20.3 percent of the members of parliament were younger than 40 years old…
Age distribution of
U.S. Congress over time
… and just 14.7 percent were older than 60 years old
In 1981, 22.3 percent of the U.S. representatives were younger than 40 years old
In the current term, just
8.3 percent of the U.S. representatives were younger than 40 years old…
… and 43.1 percent were older than 60 years old.
While worldwide, 20.3 percent of the members of parliament were younger than 40 years old…
… and just 21.0 percent were older than 60 years old.
Age distribution of
U.S. Congress over time
… and just 14.7 percent were older than 60 years old
In 1981, 22.3 percent of the U.S. representatives were younger than 40 years old
… and 43.1 percent were older than 60 years old.
In the current term, just 8.3 percent of the U.S. representatives were younger than 40 years old…
While worldwide, 20.3 percent of the members of parliament were younger than 40 years old…
… and just 21.0 percent were older than 60 years old.
A political body should be representative of many generational experiences, Stockemer said. People around the same age may not always share the same ideologies or political leanings, but they do share the same history, the same world events.
“How you view the world is different from how your grandparents view the world. That’s why these different conceptions should be represented,” he said.
About this story
Sources: The Post used data from the Pew Research Center for 2024 world leader ages, data from Daniel Stockemer for leader ages from 1950 to 2023, data from the Worldwide Age Representation in Parliaments Dataset for the legislator ages, and U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs data for median ages by country for 1950 to 2024.
Editing by Reem Akkad, Anu Narayanswamy and Samuel Granados.
