Costa Rica vs North Korea: Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population)
Costa Rica
18.5%
in 2025
North Korea
18.6%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
81st
North Korea rank
79th
Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population) over time
- Costa Rica
- North Korea
How they compare
North Korea currently reports 18.6% against 18.5% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 81st and North Korea ranks 79th of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 4 and North Korea in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | North Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.1% | 5.8% | 0.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 6.4% | 6.0% | 0.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 6.9% | 6.1% | 0.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 8.2% | 7.6% | 0.6% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 9.6% | 11.8% | 2.2% | North Korea |
| 2010s | 12.6% | 15.3% | 2.7% | North Korea |
| 2020s | 16.8% | 17.1% | 0.4% | North Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, old, Costa Rica or North Korea?
- North Korea, at 18.6% against 18.5% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio, old between Costa Rica and North Korea?
- 0.1%, with North Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and North Korea?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and North Korea rank globally for age dependency ratio, old?
- Costa Rica ranks 81st and North Korea ranks 79th of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Age dependency ratio, old, is the ratio of older dependents--people older than 64--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population.