What is a Dependency Ratio?
In each country of the world, there are people of every age and economic status, and those who are too old or too young to work often depend to a great degree on those who do work. It is beneficial for economists and other scientists to be able to express this fact in a mathematical way, and they do so through what is called the dependency ratio. Put simply, it means the ratio of unemployed to employed people in a country or organization. To express a dependency ratio in exact terms, the dependent part usually includes those people under the age of 15, and over the age of 64. The productive part, for the sake of calculating the ratio, is then of course the population between the ages of 15 and 64. Most often, the result is expressed as a percentage. For example, if a population of 10,000 has 2,000 people under the age of 15; 5,000 people between the ages of 15 and 64; and 3,000 people over the age of 64, then the total dependency ratio comes out to 50%, since half of the population is
Hi James A dependency ratio is the proportion of a population that is dependent on the working population. That is to say the number of children under 16 and adults over 60 compared to the number of people aged 16-59. So, if, in a population of 100 there are 20 children, 30 OAPs and 50 workers, the dependency ratio is 1:1. However, it is better for the economy to have more workers than dependents. To work out the dependency ratio from a population pyramid, add up all the children and OAPs and divide by the remainder of the population. Submitted by: james rowland, (Age 13) Back to full list of questions Italia Online The effect of new geographical trends in modern Italy, including globalisation, de-industrialisation and European integration. Planet.com Contemporary environmental issues and how small-scale individual actions can have an effect on the global environment. Essentials Geography quizzes and activities for 7- to 11-year-olds.
