Norway vs United Kingdom: Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population)
Norway
29.4%
in 2025
United Kingdom
31.1%
in 2025
Norway rank
40th
United Kingdom rank
38th
Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population) over time
- Norway
- United Kingdom
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 31.1% against 29.4% in Norway, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.1 times Norway's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was United Kingdom ahead.
Norway ranks 40th and United Kingdom ranks 38th of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 2 and United Kingdom in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.8% | 19.0% | 0.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1970s | 21.8% | 22.3% | 0.5% | United Kingdom |
| 1980s | 24.3% | 23.4% | 0.9% | Norway |
| 1990s | 24.7% | 24.7% | 0.0% | Norway |
| 2000s | 22.6% | 24.3% | 1.7% | United Kingdom |
| 2010s | 24.6% | 27.2% | 2.6% | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 28.4% | 30.2% | 1.8% | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, old, Norway or United Kingdom?
- United Kingdom, at 31.1% against 29.4% in Norway as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio, old between Norway and United Kingdom?
- 1.7%, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and United Kingdom?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Norway and United Kingdom rank globally for age dependency ratio, old?
- Norway ranks 40th and United Kingdom ranks 38th 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.