Dependency Ratio by Country in 2026

2026 medium projection

Compare how many people fall outside the conventional working ages for every 100 people aged 15–64—and see whether children or older adults account for the ratio.

Countries and areas: 237
Highest-ranked: Central African Republic101.9
Rank 10: Mozambique87.1
End of table: Qatar20.1

Estimate or projection?

The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.

Complete dependency ratio by country in 2026 ranking

Select any country to inspect its full age-by-sex structure and projections.

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Dependency Ratio by Country in 2026
Rank	Country or area	Region	Total dependency	Child / old-age
1	Central African Republic	Africa	101.9	97.4 / 4.5
2	Monaco	Europe	100.0	28.1 / 71.9
3	Somalia	Africa	96.7	91.5 / 5.2
4	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	95.8	89.7 / 6.1
5	Niger	Africa	94.1	89.0 / 5.1
6	Vatican City	Europe	93.9	14.4 / 79.5
7	Chad	Africa	92.9	88.7 / 4.1
8	Mali	Africa	91.5	87.0 / 4.5
9	Angola	Africa	87.8	82.3 / 5.5
10	Mozambique	Africa	87.1	82.1 / 5.1
11	Burundi	Africa	84.4	79.7 / 4.7
12	Mauritania	Africa	82.9	76.9 / 6.0
13	Tanzania	Africa	82.4	76.9 / 5.5
14	Mayotte	Africa	81.8	76.6 / 5.2
15	Uganda	Africa	81.6	77.5 / 4.1
16	Afghanistan	Asia	80.7	76.3 / 4.4
17	Benin	Africa	79.0	73.3 / 5.7
18	Samoa	Oceania	77.8	66.8 / 11.1
19	Guinea	Africa	77.6	71.4 / 6.2
20	Cameroon	Africa	77.4	72.4 / 5.0
21	Yemen	Asia	77.0	72.4 / 4.6
22	Sudan	Africa	76.3	70.2 / 6.1
23	Burkina Faso	Africa	76.2	71.4 / 4.8
24	Zimbabwe	Africa	75.9	69.7 / 6.2
25	Nigeria	Africa	75.8	70.3 / 5.4
26	Ivory Coast	Africa	74.7	69.9 / 4.7
27	Republic of the Congo	Africa	74.1	68.6 / 5.5
27	Zambia	Africa	74.1	70.5 / 3.6
29	Gambia	Africa	73.8	68.0 / 5.7
30	Madagascar	Africa	72.9	66.8 / 6.1
30	Malawi	Africa	72.9	68.4 / 4.5
32	Togo	Africa	72.7	67.0 / 5.7
33	Vanuatu	Oceania	72.5	64.8 / 7.7
34	Liberia	Africa	72.4	66.6 / 5.8
35	Ethiopia	Africa	72.1	66.3 / 5.8
35	Martinique	Latin America and the Caribbean	72.1	25.0 / 47.1
37	Saint Martin (French part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	71.4	35.4 / 36.0
38	Eritrea	Africa	70.7	63.3 / 7.4
38	Saint Helena	Africa	70.7	22.5 / 48.2
40	Guadeloupe	Latin America and the Caribbean	70.6	27.0 / 43.5
41	Tonga	Oceania	70.5	58.6 / 11.9
42	Japan	Asia	70.2	18.8 / 51.4
43	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	70.0	63.2 / 6.8
44	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	69.9	64.3 / 5.6
45	Comoros	Africa	69.6	62.1 / 7.5
46	Senegal	Africa	69.5	63.3 / 6.2
47	State of Palestine	Asia	69.4	62.8 / 6.7
48	Rwanda	Africa	68.9	62.0 / 6.9
49	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	68.7	62.2 / 6.5
50	Sierra Leone	Africa	68.2	62.6 / 5.6
51	Tuvalu	Oceania	67.9	55.3 / 12.6
52	South Sudan	Africa	67.4	62.1 / 5.3
53	Pakistan	Asia	67.3	59.9 / 7.4
54	Namibia	Africa	67.2	60.6 / 6.5
55	Gabon	Africa	67.0	60.0 / 7.0
56	United States Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	66.7	27.4 / 39.3
57	Solomon Islands	Oceania	66.2	60.0 / 6.2
58	Israel	Asia	65.9	44.6 / 21.3
58	Tajikistan	Asia	65.9	58.8 / 7.1
60	Nauru	Oceania	65.6	60.4 / 5.3
61	Guam	Oceania	64.7	42.3 / 22.4
62	Ghana	Africa	63.7	57.3 / 6.4
62	Iraq	Asia	63.7	57.9 / 5.7
64	France	Europe	63.6	26.1 / 37.5
64	Niue	Oceania	63.6	35.4 / 28.2
66	Kenya	Africa	63.4	58.4 / 5.0
67	Finland	Europe	62.7	22.8 / 39.9
68	Kiribati	Oceania	62.6	55.2 / 7.4
69	Marshall Islands	Oceania	62.3	54.0 / 8.3
70	French Guiana	Latin America and the Caribbean	62.2	50.0 / 12.1
71	Kazakhstan	Asia	61.8	46.7 / 15.1
72	Germany	Europe	61.6	22.4 / 39.2
73	Cook Islands	Oceania	61.4	36.3 / 25.1
74	Portugal	Europe	61.3	20.4 / 40.9
75	Timor-Leste	Asia	60.8	52.4 / 8.3
76	Uzbekistan	Asia	60.6	50.5 / 10.1
77	Isle of Man	Europe	60.5	21.8 / 38.7
77	Kyrgyzstan	Asia	60.5	50.5 / 10.0
79	Latvia	Europe	60.4	24.0 / 36.3
80	Faroe Islands	Europe	60.3	31.7 / 28.6
81	Serbia	Europe	60.2	22.8 / 37.5
82	Croatia	Europe	60.1	21.6 / 38.5
82	Lesotho	Africa	60.1	53.8 / 6.2
82	Micronesia	Oceania	60.1	49.9 / 10.2
85	Sweden	Europe	60.0	26.3 / 33.7
86	Greece	Europe	59.5	20.0 / 39.4
87	Estonia	Europe	59.1	23.7 / 35.4
88	Eswatini	Africa	58.8	51.8 / 7.0
88	Italy	Europe	58.8	18.2 / 40.7
90	Réunion	Africa	58.7	32.0 / 26.8
91	Slovenia	Europe	58.5	22.6 / 35.9
92	Denmark	Europe	58.4	24.5 / 33.9
93	Belgium	Europe	58.2	24.4 / 33.8
93	Bulgaria	Europe	58.2	22.7 / 35.5
95	Puerto Rico	Latin America and the Caribbean	58.0	17.2 / 40.8
96	Moldova	Europe	57.9	30.4 / 27.5
96	United Kingdom	Europe	57.9	26.4 / 31.5
98	Mongolia	Asia	57.8	48.7 / 9.1
99	Bermuda	Northern America	57.7	20.7 / 37.0
100	Georgia	Asia	57.6	31.8 / 25.8
101	Algeria	Africa	57.5	46.4 / 11.1
101	Egypt	Africa	57.5	49.0 / 8.6
101	Papua New Guinea	Oceania	57.5	51.7 / 5.9
104	Montenegro	Europe	57.3	27.8 / 29.5
105	Czechia	Europe	56.9	23.3 / 33.7
105	Guernsey	Europe	56.9	21.3 / 35.6
107	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	56.8	19.9 / 36.8
107	Liechtenstein	Europe	56.8	22.3 / 34.5
109	Netherlands	Europe	56.6	23.3 / 33.3
110	Saint Barthélemy	Latin America and the Caribbean	56.4	27.3 / 29.1
111	Australia	Oceania	56.2	27.4 / 28.8
112	Botswana	Africa	56.0	49.6 / 6.4
112	Guyana	Latin America and the Caribbean	56.0	44.8 / 11.3
112	Turkmenistan	Asia	56.0	48.1 / 7.9
115	Cambodia	Asia	55.8	45.5 / 10.3
116	United States	Northern America	55.6	26.3 / 29.3
117	Austria	Europe	55.5	21.9 / 33.6
117	Lebanon	Asia	55.5	38.8 / 16.7
117	New Zealand	Oceania	55.5	27.4 / 28.0
117	Romania	Europe	55.5	24.0 / 31.5
117	Switzerland	Europe	55.5	23.0 / 32.5
122	Gibraltar	Europe	55.4	27.3 / 28.1
122	Hungary	Europe	55.4	22.3 / 33.1
124	Canada	Northern America	55.3	23.1 / 32.2
124	Lithuania	Europe	55.3	22.2 / 33.1
126	Guatemala	Latin America and the Caribbean	55.2	47.3 / 7.9
126	Montserrat	Latin America and the Caribbean	55.2	24.1 / 31.2
128	Poland	Europe	54.8	21.9 / 32.9
129	Haiti	Latin America and the Caribbean	54.5	46.9 / 7.5
129	San Marino	Europe	54.5	17.7 / 36.8
131	North Macedonia	Europe	54.4	25.1 / 29.3
132	Norway	Europe	54.1	24.2 / 29.9
132	Russia	Europe	54.1	25.8 / 28.3
134	Paraguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	54.0	43.3 / 10.6
135	Bolivia	Latin America and the Caribbean	53.7	44.7 / 9.0
136	Slovakia	Europe	53.5	23.6 / 29.9
137	American Samoa	Oceania	53.2	39.3 / 13.9
138	Hong Kong	Asia	53.1	15.3 / 37.8
138	Venezuela	Latin America and the Caribbean	53.1	37.2 / 15.8
140	Albania	Europe	53.0	25.0 / 28.0
140	Aruba	Latin America and the Caribbean	53.0	24.8 / 28.3
142	Honduras	Latin America and the Caribbean	52.9	45.7 / 7.1
142	Jordan	Asia	52.9	45.3 / 7.6
144	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	52.8	25.9 / 26.9
145	Spain	Europe	52.7	18.8 / 33.8
146	Laos	Asia	52.5	45.0 / 7.6
146	Nepal	Asia	52.5	42.2 / 10.3
148	Belarus	Europe	52.3	23.5 / 28.8
149	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	52.2	39.3 / 12.9
150	Sri Lanka	Asia	52.0	32.5 / 19.5
151	Bangladesh	Asia	51.9	41.5 / 10.4
151	Ireland	Europe	51.9	26.8 / 25.1
151	Tokelau	Oceania	51.9	38.7 / 13.2
154	Panama	Latin America and the Caribbean	51.8	36.7 / 15.1
154	Wallis and Futuna Islands	Oceania	51.8	27.8 / 24.0
156	Uruguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	51.6	26.5 / 25.1
157	Armenia	Asia	51.2	28.3 / 23.0
158	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	50.9	42.1 / 8.9
159	Jersey	Europe	50.8	21.1 / 29.7
159	Malta	Europe	50.8	19.3 / 31.5
159	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Northern America	50.8	18.5 / 32.3
162	Iceland	Europe	50.6	26.1 / 24.5
163	Djibouti	Africa	50.5	42.8 / 7.7
163	Suriname	Latin America and the Caribbean	50.5	37.7 / 12.8
165	Morocco	Africa	50.4	37.2 / 13.2
166	Tunisia	Africa	50.1	34.6 / 15.5
167	Fiji	Oceania	50.0	39.9 / 10.2
168	Argentina	Latin America and the Caribbean	49.9	30.6 / 19.3
169	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America and the Caribbean	49.5	30.6 / 18.9
170	New Caledonia	Oceania	49.3	31.2 / 18.1
171	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	49.2	34.7 / 14.5
172	Greenland	Northern America	49.1	30.8 / 18.3
173	Syria	Asia	48.9	41.6 / 7.4
174	South Africa	Africa	48.5	38.0 / 10.5
175	Ukraine	Europe	48.3	19.9 / 28.4
176	Mexico	Latin America and the Caribbean	48.1	35.1 / 13.0
177	El Salvador	Latin America and the Caribbean	48.0	35.5 / 12.6
178	Philippines	Asia	47.9	39.1 / 8.8
179	Cuba	Latin America and the Caribbean	47.8	21.8 / 26.0
179	Vietnam	Asia	47.8	33.2 / 14.6
181	Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	47.7	30.2 / 17.5
182	Ecuador	Latin America and the Caribbean	47.5	34.4 / 13.1
182	Taiwan	Asia	47.5	16.6 / 30.9
184	Curaçao	Latin America and the Caribbean	47.2	20.9 / 26.3
185	Luxembourg	Europe	46.8	23.1 / 23.8
185	North Korea	Asia	46.8	27.7 / 19.1
187	Indonesia	Asia	46.4	34.9 / 11.4
188	Libya	Africa	46.3	38.3 / 7.9
189	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	46.2	27.1 / 19.0
189	Myanmar	Asia	46.2	34.9 / 11.3
191	Belize	Latin America and the Caribbean	45.9	38.0 / 7.9
191	Turkey	Asia	45.9	30.0 / 15.9
193	India	Asia	45.8	34.7 / 11.1
194	Cabo Verde	Africa	45.6	34.7 / 10.9
194	Cyprus	Asia	45.6	23.4 / 22.2
196	South Korea	Asia	45.5	14.3 / 31.2
197	Chile	Latin America and the Caribbean	45.3	23.4 / 21.9
198	Costa Rica	Latin America and the Caribbean	45.2	25.9 / 19.3
199	Brazil	Latin America and the Caribbean	45.0	27.7 / 17.3
200	Dominica	Latin America and the Caribbean	44.6	25.1 / 19.5
201	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Latin America and the Caribbean	44.5	22.4 / 22.1
202	Thailand	Asia	44.4	20.3 / 24.1
203	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	44.3	24.8 / 19.5
204	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America and the Caribbean	44.0	26.5 / 17.5
205	Iran	Asia	43.9	31.0 / 12.9
206	French Polynesia	Oceania	43.7	25.7 / 18.1
207	Azerbaijan	Asia	43.6	29.6 / 14.0
207	Colombia	Latin America and the Caribbean	43.6	28.4 / 15.3
209	Kosovo	Europe	43.3	27.6 / 15.7
210	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America and the Caribbean	43.1	24.6 / 18.4
211	Palau	Oceania	42.8	25.1 / 17.6
212	China	Asia	42.7	21.1 / 21.6
213	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Latin America and the Caribbean	42.3	22.5 / 19.8
213	Western Sahara	Africa	42.3	32.3 / 9.9
215	Bahamas	Latin America and the Caribbean	42.2	24.5 / 17.7
216	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	42.0	20.6 / 21.4
217	Macao	Asia	41.6	19.0 / 22.6
218	Malaysia	Asia	41.2	29.4 / 11.8
219	Mauritius	Africa	40.9	20.2 / 20.7
220	Andorra	Europe	40.0	15.9 / 24.1
220	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	40.0	21.2 / 18.8
220	Seychelles	Africa	40.0	27.4 / 12.6
223	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	39.2	22.3 / 16.9
224	Brunei	Asia	38.9	28.3 / 10.6
225	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	37.8	23.5 / 14.2
226	Jamaica	Latin America and the Caribbean	36.7	24.5 / 12.3
227	Oman	Asia	36.6	32.8 / 3.7
228	Bhutan	Asia	36.2	27.0 / 9.2
228	Saudi Arabia	Asia	36.2	31.9 / 4.3
230	Singapore	Asia	36.1	16.0 / 20.1
231	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	35.2	21.5 / 13.6
232	British Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	32.3	18.2 / 14.1
233	Maldives	Asia	31.1	24.2 / 6.9
234	Bahrain	Asia	28.8	23.4 / 5.4
235	Kuwait	Asia	26.6	22.5 / 4.1
236	United Arab Emirates	Asia	21.6	19.3 / 2.2
237	Qatar	Asia	20.1	18.0 / 2.1

What this ranking measures—and what it does not

Definition

Total age dependency is the population aged 0–14 plus the population aged 65+, divided by the population aged 15–64, multiplied by 100. Child and old-age components use the same denominator.

Why it matters

Two countries can have the same total ratio for opposite reasons: one may have many children and the other many older adults. The components therefore carry more meaning than the total alone.

Read with care

Age dependency is not economic dependency. It does not count workers, taxpayers, students, caregivers, or retirees, and the 15 and 65 boundaries are conventions rather than universal life transitions.

What stands out in this comparison

Central African Republic leads with 101.9, while Mozambique is at rank 10 with 87.1. At the other end of the complete table, Qatar has 20.1.

Those positions describe this particular indicator, definition, and reference period. They do not imply that every country near the top has the same population pyramid or demographic path. Open the profiles to compare the underlying cohorts.

First five

Central African Republic — rank 1, 101.9; child / old-age 97.4 / 4.5.
Monaco — rank 2, 100.0; child / old-age 28.1 / 71.9.
Somalia — rank 3, 96.7; child / old-age 91.5 / 5.2.
Democratic Republic of the Congo — rank 4, 95.8; child / old-age 89.7 / 6.1.
Niger — rank 5, 94.1; child / old-age 89.0 / 5.1.

Other end of the table

Qatar — rank 237, 20.1; child / old-age 18.0 / 2.1.
United Arab Emirates — rank 236, 21.6; child / old-age 19.3 / 2.2.
Kuwait — rank 235, 26.6; child / old-age 22.5 / 4.1.
Bahrain — rank 234, 28.8; child / old-age 23.4 / 5.4.
Maldives — rank 233, 31.1; child / old-age 24.2 / 6.9.

Questions about this ranking

Which country or area ranks first for total dependency?

Central African Republic ranks first in this comparison with 101.9. The table uses 2026 medium projection from UN World Population Prospects 2024.

Which values are estimates and which are projections?

In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections. The peak-year table labels historical and projected results separately.

Why might another source show a different rank?

Sources can use different reference dates, revisions, country definitions, estimation methods, or projection scenarios. Close ranks can also change after revisions.