List of countries by dependency ratio


Dependency ratios are ratios of the numbers of dependents to the number of working-age adults. They serve as indicators of population age structures and social support requirements.

Definitions

  • The total dependency ratio is the number of youths and elderly per hundred working-age adults:
  • The youth dependency ratio is the number of youths per hundred working-age adults:
  • The elderly dependency ratio is the number of elderly per hundred working-age adults:
  • The potential support ratio is the number of working-age adults per elderly person:
Note that the potential support ratio is times the reciprocal of the elderly dependency ratio.

List (2024)

All data are for 2024 and from CIA World Factbook. Notes:
  • "China": "data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan"
  • "Cyprus": "data represent the whole country"
  • "Norway": "data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands"
  • "Ukraine": "data include Crimea".