Countries by Dependency Ratio

What Age Dependency Ratio Measures

Age Dependency Ratio is a demographic indicator published by the World Bank that captures important population characteristics. Demographic metrics like this one inform government planning, healthcare provisioning, urban development, and migration policy. They are among the most frequently searched country statistics globally.

Why This Ranking Matters

Tracking Age Dependency Ratio across countries reveals global population trends, from aging societies in Europe and East Asia to young, rapidly growing populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. These patterns shape labor markets, education systems, pension sustainability, and geopolitical influence for decades to come.

Global Range

Values range from 20.115 (Qatar) to 104.727 (Central African Republic) — a 5-fold difference across 215 countries.

Regional Patterns

African countries dominate this ranking, holding 17 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 48.311 to 66.119. The overall spread from 20.115 to 104.727 reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Central African Republic and Monaco are separated by only 6%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.

Continental Leaders

Africa

Central African Republic

104.727

Europe

Monaco

98.566

Asia

Afghanistan

82.777

Oceania

Samoa

79.678

North America

Saint Martin

65.951

South America

Bolivia

54.866