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Old-age dependency ratio, age old

UN WPP

About this data

Old-age dependency ratio, age old
UN WPP
The ratio of the elderly all population (ages 65 and over) to the working-age all population (ages 15 to 64).
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
July 12, 2024
Date range
1950–2023
Unit
%

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Age dependency breakdown by young and old dependents

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

World Population Prospects 2024 is the 28th edition of the official estimates and projections of the global population that have been published by the United Nations since 1951. The estimates are based on all available sources of data on population size and levels of fertility, mortality and international migration for 237 countries or areas. If you have questions about this dataset, please refer to their FAQ. You can also explore data sources for each country or visit their main page for more details.

Retrieved on
July 11, 2024
Retrieved from
https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Old-age dependency ratio, age old”. Our World in Data (2025). Data adapted from United Nations. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/age-dependency-ratio-old [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. “Old-age dependency ratio, age old – UN WPP” [dataset]. United Nations, “World Population Prospects” [original data]. Retrieved June 12, 2025 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/age-dependency-ratio-old