Ecuador vs South Africa: Age dependency ratio
Ecuador
48.1%
in 2025
South Africa
48.4%
in 2025
Ecuador rank
163rd
South Africa rank
162nd
Age dependency ratio over time
- Ecuador
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 48.4% against 48.1% in Ecuador, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Ecuador ahead.
Ecuador ranks 163rd and South Africa ranks 162nd of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Ecuador averaged higher in 6 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ecuador | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 94.4% | 83.7% | 10.8% | Ecuador |
| 1970s | 90.1% | 83.8% | 6.3% | Ecuador |
| 1980s | 80.0% | 76.5% | 3.5% | Ecuador |
| 1990s | 70.6% | 70.7% | 0.1% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 63.4% | 58.3% | 5.1% | Ecuador |
| 2010s | 55.8% | 51.4% | 4.4% | Ecuador |
| 2020s | 49.8% | 48.7% | 1.1% | Ecuador |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, Ecuador or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 48.4% against 48.1% in Ecuador as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio between Ecuador and South Africa?
- 0.3%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ecuador and South Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Ecuador and South Africa rank globally for age dependency ratio?
- Ecuador ranks 163rd and South Africa ranks 162nd of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as Age dependency ratio (% 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 is the ratio of dependents--people younger than 15 or 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.