Greenland vs South Africa: Age dependency ratio
Greenland
47.6%
in 2025
South Africa
48.4%
in 2025
Greenland rank
165th
South Africa rank
162nd
Age dependency ratio over time
- Greenland
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 48.4% against 47.6% in Greenland, a difference of 0.8%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Greenland ahead.
Greenland ranks 165th and South Africa ranks 162nd of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Greenland averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Greenland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 88.9% | 83.7% | 5.3% | Greenland |
| 1970s | 69.2% | 83.8% | 14.6% | South Africa |
| 1980s | 41.9% | 76.5% | 34.6% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 45.9% | 70.7% | 24.7% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 44.3% | 58.3% | 14.0% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 40.9% | 51.4% | 10.5% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 44.6% | 48.7% | 4.1% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher age dependency ratio, Greenland or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 48.4% against 47.6% in Greenland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in age dependency ratio between Greenland and South Africa?
- 0.8%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Greenland and South Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Greenland and South Africa rank globally for age dependency ratio?
- Greenland ranks 165th 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.