Dependency Ratio by Country 2026

Dependency Ratio by Country 2026

UN World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant)

The dependency ratio compares the number of children and older people to the working-age population that supports them.

  • 201 countries and areas ranked
  • Highest: Central African Republic
  • Lowest: Qatar

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Rank Country Total dependencyRegionChild dependencyOld-age dependencyMedian age
1 Central African Republic 101.9% AFRICA 97.4% 4.5% 15.7
2 Monaco 100.0% EUROPE 28.1% 71.9% 54.1
3 Somalia 96.7% AFRICA 91.5% 5.2% 16.7
4 D.R. Congo 95.8% AFRICA 89.7% 6.1% 17.0
5 Niger 94.1% AFRICA 89.0% 5.1% 16.8
6 Chad 92.8% AFRICA 88.7% 4.1% 16.9
7 Mali 91.5% AFRICA 87.0% 4.5% 17.0
8 Angola 87.8% AFRICA 82.3% 5.5% 17.9
9 Mozambique 87.2% AFRICA 82.1% 5.1% 17.8
10 Burundi 84.4% AFRICA 79.7% 4.7% 17.8
11 Mauritania 82.9% AFRICA 76.9% 6.0% 18.6
12 Tanzania 82.4% AFRICA 76.9% 5.5% 18.7
13 Mayotte 81.8% AFRICA 76.6% 5.2% 18.4
14 Uganda 81.6% AFRICA 77.5% 4.1% 18.2
15 Afghanistan 80.7% ASIA 76.3% 4.4% 18.5
16 Benin 79.0% AFRICA 73.3% 5.7% 19.2
17 Samoa 77.9% OCEANIA 66.8% 11.1% 21.0
18 Guinea 77.6% AFRICA 71.4% 6.2% 19.5
19 Cameroon 77.4% AFRICA 72.4% 5.0% 19.3
20 Yemen 77.0% ASIA 72.4% 4.6% 19.5
21 Sudan 76.3% AFRICA 70.2% 6.1% 19.8
22 Burkina Faso 76.2% AFRICA 71.4% 4.8% 19.1
23 Zimbabwe 75.9% AFRICA 69.7% 6.2% 19.4
24 Nigeria 75.7% AFRICA 70.3% 5.4% 19.4
25 Côte d'Ivoire 74.6% AFRICA 69.9% 4.7% 19.5
26 Congo 74.1% AFRICA 68.6% 5.5% 19.8
27 Zambia 74.1% AFRICA 70.5% 3.6% 19.2
28 Gambia 73.7% AFRICA 68.0% 5.7% 19.8
29 Madagascar 72.9% AFRICA 66.8% 6.1% 20.4
30 Malawi 72.9% AFRICA 68.4% 4.5% 19.4
31 Togo 72.7% AFRICA 67.0% 5.7% 20.2
32 Vanuatu 72.5% OCEANIA 64.8% 7.7% 21.4
33 Liberia 72.4% AFRICA 66.6% 5.8% 20.0
34 Martinique 72.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 25.0% 47.1% 51.0
35 Ethiopia 72.1% AFRICA 66.3% 5.8% 20.4
36 Eritrea 70.7% AFRICA 63.3% 7.4% 20.6
37 Tonga 70.5% OCEANIA 58.6% 11.9% 22.1
38 Guadeloupe 70.5% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 27.0% 43.5% 48.4
39 Japan 70.2% ASIA 18.8% 51.4% 51.1
40 Sao Tome and Principe 70.0% AFRICA 63.2% 6.8% 20.8
41 Guinea-Bissau 69.9% AFRICA 64.3% 5.6% 20.6
42 Comoros 69.6% AFRICA 62.1% 7.5% 21.8
43 State of Palestine 69.5% ASIA 62.8% 6.7% 21.3
44 Senegal 69.5% AFRICA 63.3% 6.2% 20.9
45 Rwanda 68.9% AFRICA 62.0% 6.9% 21.3
46 Equatorial Guinea 68.7% AFRICA 62.2% 6.5% 22.0
47 Sierra Leone 68.2% AFRICA 62.6% 5.6% 21.0
48 South Sudan 67.4% AFRICA 62.1% 5.3% 20.0
49 Pakistan 67.3% ASIA 59.9% 7.4% 21.8
50 Namibia 67.1% AFRICA 60.6% 6.5% 22.6
51 Gabon 67.0% AFRICA 60.0% 7.0% 22.6
52 United States Virgin Islands 66.7% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 27.4% 39.3% 45.9
53 Solomon Islands 66.2% OCEANIA 60.0% 6.2% 22.0
54 Israel 65.9% ASIA 44.6% 21.3% 30.3
55 Tajikistan 65.9% ASIA 58.8% 7.1% 23.3
56 Guam 64.7% OCEANIA 42.3% 22.4% 32.7
57 Ghana 63.7% AFRICA 57.3% 6.4% 22.6
58 Iraq 63.6% ASIA 57.9% 5.7% 22.2
59 France 63.6% EUROPE 26.1% 37.5% 43.4
60 Kenya 63.4% AFRICA 58.4% 5.0% 21.4
61 Finland 62.7% EUROPE 22.8% 39.9% 44.4
62 Kiribati 62.6% OCEANIA 55.2% 7.4% 24.0
63 French Guiana 62.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 50.0% 12.1% 26.0
64 Kazakhstan 61.8% ASIA 46.7% 15.1% 30.7
65 Germany 61.6% EUROPE 22.4% 39.2% 46.8
66 Portugal 61.3% EUROPE 20.4% 40.9% 48.1
67 Timor-Leste 60.7% ASIA 52.4% 8.3% 23.2
68 Uzbekistan 60.6% ASIA 50.5% 10.1% 27.9
69 Kyrgyzstan 60.5% ASIA 50.5% 10.0% 26.5
70 Serbia 60.3% EUROPE 22.8% 37.5% 45.6
71 Latvia 60.3% EUROPE 24.0% 36.3% 44.9
72 Micronesia (Fed. States of) 60.1% OCEANIA 49.9% 10.2% 24.5
73 Croatia 60.1% EUROPE 21.6% 38.5% 46.5
74 Sweden 60.0% EUROPE 26.3% 33.7% 41.5
75 Lesotho 60.0% AFRICA 53.8% 6.2% 23.1
76 Greece 59.4% EUROPE 20.0% 39.4% 48.1
77 Estonia 59.1% EUROPE 23.7% 35.4% 44.2
78 Italy 58.9% EUROPE 18.2% 40.7% 49.6
79 Réunion 58.8% AFRICA 32.0% 26.8% 39.4
80 Swaziland 58.8% AFRICA 51.8% 7.0% 23.7
81 Slovenia 58.5% EUROPE 22.6% 35.9% 46.0
82 Denmark 58.4% EUROPE 24.5% 33.9% 42.4
83 Bulgaria 58.2% EUROPE 22.7% 35.5% 46.0
84 Belgium 58.2% EUROPE 24.4% 33.8% 43.1
85 Puerto Rico 58.0% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 17.2% 40.8% 47.2
86 Republic of Moldova 57.9% EUROPE 30.4% 27.5% 40.1
87 United Kingdom 57.9% EUROPE 26.4% 31.5% 41.2
88 Mongolia 57.8% ASIA 48.7% 9.1% 27.9
89 Egypt 57.6% AFRICA 49.0% 8.6% 25.7
90 Georgia 57.6% ASIA 31.8% 25.8% 38.6
91 Papua New Guinea 57.6% OCEANIA 51.7% 5.9% 24.0
92 Algeria 57.5% AFRICA 46.4% 11.1% 29.8
93 Montenegro 57.3% EUROPE 27.8% 29.5% 41.4
94 Czech Republic 57.0% EUROPE 23.3% 33.7% 45.2
95 Bosnia and Herzegovina 56.7% EUROPE 19.9% 36.8% 47.1
96 Netherlands 56.6% EUROPE 23.3% 33.3% 42.6
97 Australia 56.2% OCEANIA 27.4% 28.8% 39.5
98 Guyana 56.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 44.8% 11.3% 27.5
99 Botswana 56.0% AFRICA 49.6% 6.4% 24.7
100 Turkmenistan 56.0% ASIA 48.1% 7.9% 28.1
101 Cambodia 55.8% ASIA 45.5% 10.3% 27.4
102 United States of America 55.6% NORTHERN AMERICA 26.3% 29.3% 39.7
103 Austria 55.5% EUROPE 21.9% 33.6% 44.9
104 Romania 55.5% EUROPE 24.0% 31.5% 44.4
105 Switzerland 55.5% EUROPE 23.0% 32.5% 44.2
106 Lebanon 55.5% ASIA 38.8% 16.7% 30.0
107 New Zealand 55.4% OCEANIA 27.4% 28.0% 39.0
108 Hungary 55.4% EUROPE 22.3% 33.1% 45.1
109 Canada 55.3% NORTHERN AMERICA 23.1% 32.2% 41.9
110 Lithuania 55.3% EUROPE 22.2% 33.1% 43.7
111 Guatemala 55.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 47.3% 7.9% 24.8
112 Poland 54.8% EUROPE 21.9% 32.9% 44.0
113 Haiti 54.4% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 46.9% 7.5% 25.4
114 TFYR Macedonia 54.4% EUROPE 25.1% 29.3% 42.4
115 Russian Federation 54.1% EUROPE 25.8% 28.3% 41.8
116 Norway 54.1% EUROPE 24.2% 29.9% 41.1
117 Paraguay 53.9% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 43.3% 10.6% 28.3
118 Bolivia 53.7% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 44.7% 9.0% 26.5
119 Slovakia 53.5% EUROPE 23.6% 29.9% 43.8
120 China, Hong Kong SAR 53.1% ASIA 15.3% 37.8% 49.0
121 Aruba 53.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.8% 28.3% 42.7
122 Albania 53.0% EUROPE 25.0% 28.0% 38.9
123 Venezuela 53.0% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 37.2% 15.8% 30.6
124 Jordan 52.9% ASIA 45.3% 7.6% 25.9
125 Barbados 52.8% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 25.9% 26.9% 40.6
126 Honduras 52.8% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 45.7% 7.1% 25.6
127 Spain 52.6% EUROPE 18.8% 33.8% 47.2
128 Laos 52.6% ASIA 45.0% 7.6% 26.3
129 Nepal 52.5% ASIA 42.2% 10.3% 26.7
130 Belarus 52.3% EUROPE 23.5% 28.8% 42.8
131 Dominican Republic 52.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 39.3% 12.9% 29.7
132 Sri Lanka 52.0% ASIA 32.5% 19.5% 34.6
133 Bangladesh 51.9% ASIA 41.5% 10.4% 27.3
134 Ireland 51.9% EUROPE 26.8% 25.1% 40.2
135 Panama 51.8% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 36.7% 15.1% 31.6
136 Uruguay 51.6% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 26.5% 25.1% 37.8
137 Armenia 51.3% ASIA 28.3% 23.0% 38.2
138 Nicaragua 51.0% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 42.1% 8.9% 27.3
139 Malta 50.7% EUROPE 19.2% 31.5% 42.5
140 Iceland 50.6% EUROPE 26.1% 24.5% 37.7
141 Djibouti 50.5% AFRICA 42.8% 7.7% 26.3
142 Suriname 50.5% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 37.7% 12.8% 29.9
143 Morocco 50.4% AFRICA 37.2% 13.2% 31.1
144 Tunisia 50.1% AFRICA 34.6% 15.5% 34.3
145 Fiji 50.1% OCEANIA 39.9% 10.2% 29.3
146 Argentina 49.9% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 30.6% 19.3% 34.3
147 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 49.5% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 30.6% 18.9% 35.7
148 New Caledonia 49.3% OCEANIA 31.2% 18.1% 35.8
149 Peru 49.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 34.7% 14.5% 31.6
150 Syrian Arab Republic 49.0% ASIA 41.6% 7.4% 24.8
151 South Africa 48.5% AFRICA 38.0% 10.5% 29.9
152 Ukraine 48.3% EUROPE 19.9% 28.4% 42.9
153 El Salvador 48.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 35.5% 12.6% 29.4
154 Mexico 48.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 35.1% 13.0% 31.0
155 Philippines 47.9% ASIA 39.1% 8.8% 27.6
156 Viet Nam 47.8% ASIA 33.2% 14.6% 34.9
157 Cuba 47.8% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 21.8% 26.0% 43.6
158 Taiwan 47.5% ASIA 16.6% 30.9% 46.4
159 Ecuador 47.5% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 34.4% 13.1% 30.7
160 Curaçao 47.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 20.9% 26.3% 40.0
161 Luxembourg 46.9% EUROPE 23.1% 23.8% 40.8
162 Dem. People's Republic of Korea 46.8% ASIA 27.7% 19.1% 37.8
163 Indonesia 46.3% ASIA 34.9% 11.4% 31.7
164 Myanmar 46.2% ASIA 34.9% 11.3% 31.4
165 Libya 46.2% AFRICA 38.3% 7.9% 29.1
166 Grenada 46.1% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 27.1% 19.0% 35.9
167 Belize 45.9% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 38.0% 7.9% 28.3
168 Turkey 45.9% ASIA 30.0% 15.9% 34.9
169 India 45.8% ASIA 34.7% 11.1% 30.2
170 Cabo Verde 45.6% AFRICA 34.7% 10.9% 30.5
171 Cyprus 45.6% ASIA 23.4% 22.2% 40.1
172 Republic of Korea 45.5% ASIA 14.3% 31.2% 47.3
173 Chile 45.3% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 23.4% 21.9% 38.5
174 Costa Rica 45.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 25.9% 19.3% 36.7
175 Brazil 45.0% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 27.7% 17.3% 36.2
176 Thailand 44.4% ASIA 20.3% 24.1% 41.9
177 Trinidad and Tobago 44.3% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.8% 19.5% 39.2
178 Iran 43.9% ASIA 31.0% 12.9% 35.5
179 French Polynesia 43.8% OCEANIA 25.7% 18.1% 37.6
180 Colombia 43.7% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 28.4% 15.3% 34.0
181 Azerbaijan 43.6% ASIA 29.6% 14.0% 35.1
182 Antigua and Barbuda 43.0% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.6% 18.4% 37.7
183 China 42.7% ASIA 21.1% 21.6% 41.7
184 Bahamas 42.2% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.5% 17.7% 36.7
185 Western Sahara 42.2% AFRICA 32.3% 9.9% 33.8
186 China, Macao SAR 41.6% ASIA 19.0% 22.6% 41.4
187 Malaysia 41.2% ASIA 29.4% 11.8% 32.4
188 Mauritius 40.9% AFRICA 20.2% 20.7% 39.3
189 Seychelles 40.0% AFRICA 27.4% 12.6% 35.6
190 Brunei Darussalam 38.9% ASIA 28.3% 10.6% 34.2
191 Saint Lucia 37.7% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 23.5% 14.2% 36.1
192 Jamaica 36.8% LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 24.5% 12.3% 34.3
193 Oman 36.5% ASIA 32.8% 3.7% 30.8
194 Bhutan 36.2% ASIA 27.0% 9.2% 31.9
195 Saudi Arabia 36.2% ASIA 31.9% 4.3% 30.6
196 Singapore 36.1% ASIA 16.0% 20.1% 37.9
197 Maldives 31.1% ASIA 24.2% 6.9% 34.4
198 Bahrain 28.8% ASIA 23.4% 5.4% 34.4
199 Kuwait 26.6% ASIA 22.5% 4.1% 35.8
200 United Arab Emirates 21.5% ASIA 19.3% 2.2% 32.6
201 Qatar 20.1% ASIA 18.0% 2.1% 34.4

Two very different routes to a high dependency ratio

Central African Republic has the world's highest total dependency ratio, at almost 102 dependents for every 100 working-age people — meaning there are slightly more children and elderly combined than there are people of working age to support them. Somalia and D.R. Congo aren't far behind. But these countries get there almost entirely through child dependency: huge young populations relative to a comparatively small working-age base, the same pattern visible in our median age ranking's youngest countries. Monaco is the striking exception at the top of the table, with a total dependency ratio of 100 driven almost entirely by old-age dependency instead — a small, ageing resident population with very few children.

The Gulf outlier

At the opposite end, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have the lowest dependency ratios in the world, all under 32 dependents per 100 working-age people. This isn't primarily a fertility story — it reflects these countries' very large working-age migrant populations, which inflate the denominator without a matching increase in the number of children or retirees (most migrant workers move without dependents and often return home before retirement). It's a useful reminder that the dependency ratio measures a population's current age structure, not how many people any one household actually supports.

Why this ratio matters

The dependency ratio is a rough proxy for the economic weight each working-age person carries — in taxes, pensions, schooling, and direct family support — even though it says nothing about actual income, productivity or the participation rate of anyone counted as "working age." A rising old-age dependency ratio (visible on our shrinking populations ranking) and a falling child dependency ratio, happening together, is the signature of a population moving through the later stages of the demographic transition: fewer children being born, but a large surviving cohort of retirees still to be supported.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries does this ranking cover?

This table covers 201 countries and territories, ranked using United Nations World Population Prospects data.

Which country has the highest dependency ratio?

Central African Republic has the highest total dependency ratio, at 101.9 dependents per 100 working-age people.

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