Across mostly middle-income survey countries, people say it’s ideal to be a spouse, parent and homeowner by 30, and to retire by 60
When is the right time in life to get married or have a child? What is the best age to buy a home? Is there an ideal age for retirement? We asked adults in 18 mostly middle-income countries what they think is the best age to reach these life milestones. Overall, there is a lot of agreement around the world.
On average across the countries surveyed, people say it is best to get married and have a first child around 26 years old. They place the best age for buying a home at just under 30 and the ideal age for retirement at around 58.
And for each of these milestones, the average ages suggested by country are generally no more than a decade apart. For example, country averages for the ideal retirement age range from early 50s to early 60s – that is, 52.1 in Colombia to 62.7 in Nigeria. These averages give us a broad view of differences between countries, but we’re also able to take a closer look within each country at the much wider range of responses people provide.
Countries included in this analysis
We asked these questions about the ideal timing of life events in 18 countries where we conduct our surveys face-to-face: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey.
In-person interviewing generally allows for greater rapport between the interviewer and respondent, and people are often more comfortable taking longer surveys in this setting.
The countries where we survey face-to-face are generally less wealthy than other nations. The World Bank classifies all countries included in this report (except Chile) as middle-income countries, while the United Nations classifies all 18 as developing economies. The middle-income nations we survey also tend to have younger populations than high-income nations, with a lower median age and life expectancy. Across the 18 countries in this analysis, the median age is 31.2 years, with a median life expectancy of 74.8 years.
Best age to get married
Generally, people across the 18 countries surveyed think it’s best to get married in one’s mid-20s. Average ideal ages range from 21.2 in Bangladesh to 28.9 in Argentina.
More than three-quarters of adults in Bangladesh say the best age for marriage is under 25. India is the only other country where a majority think the best age is under 25.
By contrast, in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, South Africa and Tunisia, roughly 10% of adults or more say the ideal age for marriage is 35 or older – the highest shares to say this among the countries surveyed. And 10% in Tunisia, 11% in Argentina and 16% in Chile say there is no best age for getting married.
People in the countries surveyed, on average, actually do get married in their 20s, according to data from the United Nations. But there is a gender gap, with women typically marrying at a younger age than men. Our survey finds a similar gender gap in views of the ideal age for marriage: In 14 of 18 countries, women say the best age to get married is slightly earlier in life, compared with men.
Read more in Chapter 1: What is the best age to get married?
And jump to Appendix A for the actual ages at which people around the world marry, have their first child and become eligible for retirement benefits.
Best age to become a parent
People across the 18 countries surveyed also largely agree that the best time to have a first child is in one’s mid-20s. Averages range from 23.5 years old in Bangladesh to 29.8 in Tunisia.
A third of adults or more in Bangladesh, India, Kenya and South Africa say it is ideal to have a first child before age 25. Similar shares in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Thailand and Tunisia say the best age to become a parent is 30 or older.
Though people in our survey overall place the best age for having a child at 26.1, women tend to give birth for the first time a little later than that, according to UN data. In most countries polled, the typical woman is about 28 or older when she has her first child.
Read more in Chapter 2: What is the best age to have a first child?
Best age to buy a home
There is a little less agreement about what age is best to become a homeowner. Average ideal ages for buying a home range from 24.9 in Brazil to 36.3 in Ghana.
Roughly 20% of adults or more in South Africa, Sri Lanka and across Latin America say the best time to reach this milestone is before age 25. And in 11 countries, at least 10% say the ideal age to buy a home is 40 or older – including in Ghana, where 41% say this.
Read more in Chapter 3: What is the best age to buy a home?
Best age to retire
People across the countries surveyed generally say the ideal age for retirement is in one’s late 50s. Still, views vary somewhat: Colombians say 52.1 is the best age to retire, while Nigerians say it is 62.7, on average.
There are also a wide range of responses within countries. Around 20% of adults in Turkey and Colombia think the best age to retire is under 50, while similar shares in Kenya and Nigeria think the best age is 70 or older.
In most countries, the average ideal age for retirement is younger than the age at which people can start receiving age-based retirement benefits. For example, many people in Mexico may qualify for a pension at age 65, according to data from the International Social Security Association. But Mexican adults say the ideal age to retire is 56.6.
Of course, retirement may not look the same or even be possible for everyone. Many older adults may work informally – such as in agriculture, child care or part-time employment – or may not retire for various reasons. And differences in the labor force across countries may also affect retirement ages and rates.
For instance, Nigerians can start receiving retirement benefits at age 50, which is earlier than most other countries included in this study – yet they give the highest ideal age for this milestone (62.7). This finding may reflect the fact that most employed Nigerians are self-employed (84% in the first quarter of 2024) and thus not eligible for pensions.
Read more in Chapter 4: What is the best age to retire?
What do Americans think is the best age for each milestone?
We asked the same set of questions in the United States, with one major difference. In the non-U.S. countries, where we surveyed face-to-face, people were able to “volunteer” (i.e., spontaneously provide a response that is not among the options given to them) that there is no best age for each milestone. But because people in the U.S. took the survey online, they saw “There is no best age” as a response option.
Large shares of Americans – from about a third to half – say there is no best age for getting married, having a first child, buying a home or retiring. But among those who provided an age, the averages generally look very similar to what we found across the 18 mostly middle-income countries surveyed for this report.
On average, Americans say the ideal age for each life milestone is:
- Getting married: 26.5
- Having a child: 27.3
- Buying a house: 28.8
- Retiring: 61.8
Democrats and adults under 30 say it is best to get married and have a child slightly later in life, and to retire earlier in life, compared with Republicans and people ages 65 and older.
For more about how Americans answered these questions, read “Best age to get married, have a child, buy a home and retire? Here’s what Americans say”.
Age, gender and other factors affect views of the ideal timing for life events
The age people think is best for a certain milestone varies based on multiple demographic characteristics. A person’s own age is one of the most common contributing factors across countries.
Adults under 35 generally believe it is best to get married and have a child slightly later in life, compared with people ages 50 and older. On average across the 18 countries in this analysis, younger adults think 26.6 is the ideal age to get married and the best age to have a child. Older adults say 25.1 is the best age to get married and 25.4 is the best age to have a child.
However, younger adults generally suggest an earlier age for retirement than older adults. Looking across all 18 countries, adults under 35 say the best age for retirement is 57.3, while older adults say the best age is 58.9.
Views in Peru are a good example of this pattern:
- Getting married: Young adults in Peru say the ideal age for this milestone is 29.6, while older adults say 26.2.
- Having a child: 27.7 vs. 25.0
- Retiring: 57.9 vs. 60.4
Older and younger adults in many countries agree on the best age to buy a home. In eight countries, however, younger adults think it is ideal to buy a home slightly earlier in life.
Views of ideal ages for life events also differ by:
- Gender: In most countries, men give an older ideal age for getting married and having a first child, compared with women.
- Education: People with more education tend to think it is best to get married and have a child later in life, compared with those who have less education.
- Importance of religion: People who say religion is very important in their life tend to suggest marriage and parenthood at a younger age, compared with people who say religion is only somewhat, not too or not at all important to them.
Around half of adults across 18 countries say it’s ideal to get married, have a child and own a home by age 30
The average ages that people think are ideal for marriage, parenthood and homeownership generally fall around 30 or younger. But how large is the share of adults who say it is best to do all three by age 30? And do people generally agree on an ideal order for these life events?
Across the 18 countries surveyed, a median of 53% say the ideal age for reaching all three of these life events is 30 or younger. In Mexico and Sri Lanka, almost three-quarters of adults think it is best to get married, have a child and buy a home by age 30.
Fewer adults in Ghana and Tunisia hold this view; most think it’s best to buy a home later in life.
In half the countries surveyed, the ideal order for these events – based on average ages suggested in the survey – is marriage, then parenthood, then homeownership.
The ideal order in Colombia, Ghana, Mexico and the Philippines is having a child, then getting married, then buying a home.
In Argentina, Chile, Peru and South Africa, the ideal age for having a child is youngest, followed by homeownership, then marriage.
People in Brazil say the best order is buying a home, then getting married, then having a child.
