In cricket, a player is said to have completed a century when they score 100 or more runs in a single innings. The Under-19 Cricket World Cup is the international championship of under-19 One Day International cricket, and is organized by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was first held in 1988, and then 1998, since when it has been contested every two years. As of the 2026 edition, a total of 184 centuries have been scored by 160 players from 20 different teams. Indian batsmen have scored the highest number of centuries (25), followed by Australia and South Africa with 23 each. New Zealand and Scotland have conceded 13 centuries each, which is more than any other team. At least one century has been conceded by 27 of the participating teams.
The first century of the championship was scored by Brett Williams of Australia when he scored 112 runs against the West Indies in the 1988 Youth Cricket World Cup. Viran Chamuditha scored the highest innings of the championship in the 2026 edition, scoring 192 runs for Sri Lanka against Japan. India's Shikhar Dhawan, England's Jack Burnham and Bangladesh's Ariful Islam hold the record for the highest number of centuries (3 each), and are followed by eighteen other players who have scored two centuries. Lendl Simmons of the West Indies, Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe, Eoin Morgan of Ireland, Babar Azam of Pakistan, Emmanuel Bawa of Zimbabwe and Ariful Islam Jony of Bangladesh are the only players to have scored centuries in more than one edition of the championship.
The highest number of centuries was scored in the 2018 edition (25), whereas the lowest number of centuries was scored in the 1988, 2000, and 2008 editions with three each. The highest number of centuries at a single ground has been scored at Lincoln No. 3, Lincoln, with nine centuries, followed by Harare Sports Club with 8 centuries, Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein and Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, with seven centuries each. Seven centuries have been scored in World Cup finals. They were scored by India's Unmukt Chand, Manjot Kalra and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Australia's Brett Williams and Jarrad Burke, and England's Stephen Peters and Caleb Falconer; Falconer's century remains the only one to have come in a losing cause. Sooryavanshi's 175 runs against England in the 2026 final is the highest individual score in a final.