El Salvador vs South Africa: Age dependency ratio
El Salvador
48.6%
in 2025
South Africa
48.4%
in 2025
El Salvador rank
159th
South Africa rank
162nd
Age dependency ratio over time
- El Salvador
- South Africa
How they compare
El Salvador currently reports 48.6% against 48.4% in South Africa, a difference of 0.2%.
Across all 66 years both countries report, El Salvador has been ahead every year.
El Salvador ranks 159th and South Africa ranks 162nd of 218 countries.
El Salvador has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | El Salvador | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 97.7% | 83.7% | 14.0% | El Salvador |
| 1970s | 95.4% | 83.8% | 11.6% | El Salvador |
| 1980s | 83.8% | 76.5% | 7.3% | El Salvador |
| 1990s | 76.7% | 70.7% | 6.1% | El Salvador |
| 2000s | 69.4% | 58.3% | 11.1% | El Salvador |
| 2010s | 56.8% | 51.4% | 5.4% | El Salvador |
| 2020s | 50.1% | 48.7% | 1.4% | El Salvador |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, El Salvador or South Africa?
- El Salvador, at 48.6% against 48.4% in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio between El Salvador and South Africa?
- 0.2%, with El Salvador ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and South Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do El Salvador and South Africa rank globally for age dependency ratio?
- El Salvador ranks 159th 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.