Dependency ratio

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In economics and geography the dependency ratio is an age-population ratio of those typically not in the labor force (the dependent part) and those typically in the labor force (the productive part). In published international statistics, the dependent part usually includes those under the age of 15 and over the age of 64. The productive part makes up the population in between, ages 15 – 64. It is normally expressed as a percentage. This gives:

$(Total)\ Dependency\ ratio = \frac{(number\ of\ people\ aged\ 0\ to\ 14)\ +\ (number\ of\ people\ aged\ 65\ and\ over)} {number\ of\ people\ aged\ 15\to \ 64} \times 100$

This ratio is important because as it increases, there may be an increased cost on the productive part of the population to maintain the upbringing and pensions of the economically dependent. There are direct impacts on financial elements like social security.

The (total) dependency ratio can be partitioned into the child dependency ratio and the aged dependency ratio^[1]:

$Child\ dependency\ ratio = \frac{number\ of\ people\ aged\ 0-14} {number\ of\ people\ aged\ 15-64} \times 100$