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Well over half of the world’s population is governed by septuagenarian and octogenarian leaders. In this video, we’re taking a look at this growing gerontocracy phenomenon, why it’s particularly pronounced in Africa, and why Europe has seemingly avoided it.
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Sources:
Paul Biya seeks reelection:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckglpnk0kqko
Afrobarometer polling on age limits:
https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad599-africans-want-age-limits-for-government-heads-but-dont-reject-retirement-age-leaders/
Age of US Congress:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/05/us/politics/congress-age.html
https://data.ipu.org/age-brackets/?date_month=8&date_year=2025&order=desc®ion=0&sort=age_average&structure
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/16/age-and-generation-in-the-119th-congress-somewhat-younger-with-fewer-boomers-and-more-gen-xers/
US House reelection rate:
https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/reelection-rates
World leaders getting older, The Economist:
https://www.economist.com/interactive/the-world-ahead/2024/11/18/world-leaders-are-getting-older-except-in-democracies
The World is Run by Old Men in a Hurry, Janan Ganesh, FT:
https://www.ft.com/content/1d41a591-940d-4936-b79f-4c7857138903
Academic research on impact of minimum age limits and electoral system on youth representation:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-political-science-review/article/age-representation-in-parliaments-can-institutions-pave-the-way-for-the-young/C68F5A9F0A26696241914CAA22B5086B
Median ages across continents/regions:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250221-2
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/northern-america-population/
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-population/
https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/demographics-of-asia/
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/oceania-population/
Median leader ages calculated by TLDR
00:00 – Introduction
01:10 – Africa
04:03 – United States
06:13 – Is It a Problem?
07:28 – European Exception
08:17 – Sponsored Content
