European Union vs Japan: Age dependency ratio, old
European Union
35.4%
in 2025
Japan
51.0%
in 2025
European Union rank
2nd
Japan rank
2nd
Age dependency ratio, old over time
- European Union
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 51.0% against 35.4% in European Union, a difference of 15.6%.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.4 times European Union's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was European Union ahead.
European Union ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 2nd of 47 groups.
Across the 7 decades both report, European Union averaged higher in 4 and Japan in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | European Union | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.1% | 9.3% | 6.8% | European Union |
| 1970s | 19.1% | 11.5% | 7.6% | European Union |
| 1980s | 19.4% | 15.1% | 4.4% | European Union |
| 1990s | 21.6% | 20.8% | 0.7% | European Union |
| 2000s | 24.7% | 30.4% | 5.7% | Japan |
| 2010s | 28.9% | 43.2% | 14.3% | Japan |
| 2020s | 33.7% | 50.2% | 16.5% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, old, European Union or Japan?
- Japan, at 51.0% against 35.4% in European Union as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio, old between European Union and Japan?
- 15.6%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for European Union and Japan?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do European Union and Japan rank globally for age dependency ratio, old?
- European Union ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 2nd of 47 groups.
- 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.