North America vs Portugal: Age dependency ratio, old

North America
28.8%
in 2025
Portugal
40.0%
in 2025
North America rank
7th
Portugal rank
3rd

Age dependency ratio, old over time

  • North America
  • Portugal
10203040196019922025

How they compare

Portugal currently reports 40.0% against 28.8% in North America, a difference of 11.2%.

That makes Portugal's figure about 1.4 times North America's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was North America ahead.

North America ranks 7th and Portugal ranks 3rd of 47 groups.

Across the 7 decades both report, North America averaged higher in 1 and Portugal in 6.

Head to head by decade

Decade North America Portugal Difference Ahead
1960s 15.1% 13.6% 1.5% North America
1970s 15.7% 16.5% 0.8% Portugal
1980s 17.2% 18.8% 1.5% Portugal
1990s 18.6% 22.1% 3.5% Portugal
2000s 18.3% 25.6% 7.3% Portugal
2010s 21.5% 31.3% 9.8% Portugal
2020s 26.7% 37.9% 11.1% Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher age dependency ratio, old, North America or Portugal?
Portugal, at 40.0% against 28.8% in North America as of 2025.
What is the difference in age dependency ratio, old between North America and Portugal?
11.2%, with Portugal ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for North America and Portugal?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do North America and Portugal rank globally for age dependency ratio, old?
North America ranks 7th and Portugal ranks 3rd 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.

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North America vs Portugal: Age dependency ratio, old. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/age-dependency-ratio-old-percent-of-working-age-population/north-america/portugal/

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About this data

Indicator
Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population)
Unit
% of working-age population
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
266 places, 17,526 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.