North Korea vs Sri Lanka: Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population)
North Korea
18.6%
in 2025
Sri Lanka
19.0%
in 2025
North Korea rank
79th
Sri Lanka rank
78th
Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population) over time
- North Korea
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 19.0% against 18.6% in North Korea, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
North Korea ranks 79th and Sri Lanka ranks 78th of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, North Korea averaged higher in 2 and Sri Lanka in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | North Korea | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.8% | 7.0% | 1.2% | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 6.0% | 7.0% | 1.0% | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 6.1% | 8.3% | 2.2% | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 7.6% | 9.3% | 1.7% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 11.8% | 9.8% | 1.9% | North Korea |
| 2010s | 15.3% | 13.3% | 2.0% | North Korea |
| 2020s | 17.1% | 17.6% | 0.4% | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, old, North Korea or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 19.0% against 18.6% in North Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio, old between North Korea and Sri Lanka?
- 0.4%, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and Sri Lanka?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do North Korea and Sri Lanka rank globally for age dependency ratio, old?
- North Korea ranks 79th and Sri Lanka ranks 78th 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.