Age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern
Africa Eastern and Southern: Age dependency ratio, young was 70.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in % of working-age population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern is 70.7%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern peaked at 89.6% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 70.7%, in 2025.
Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 8th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern, year by year
| Year | % of working-age population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 83.0% | — |
| 1961 | 83.3% | +0.4% |
| 1962 | 83.7% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 84.1% | +0.5% |
| 1964 | 84.5% | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 85.0% | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 85.5% | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 86.0% | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 86.5% | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 86.9% | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 87.4% | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 87.9% | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 88.4% | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 88.9% | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 89.1% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 89.3% | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 89.5% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 89.6% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 89.6% | -0.0% |
| 1979 | 89.6% | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 89.5% | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 89.4% | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 89.3% | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 89.1% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 88.7% | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 88.4% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 88.2% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 87.9% | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 87.7% | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 87.5% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 87.3% | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 87.1% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 87.0% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 86.9% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 86.6% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 86.6% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 87.0% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 87.2% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 86.9% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 86.4% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 85.9% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 85.4% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 84.9% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 84.5% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 84.1% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 83.7% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 83.4% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 83.1% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 82.7% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 82.4% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 81.9% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 81.3% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 80.7% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 80.1% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 79.5% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 78.7% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 78.0% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 77.3% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 76.4% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 75.5% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 74.7% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 73.8% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 73.0% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 72.3% | -1.1% |
| 2024 | 71.5% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 70.7% | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 84.9% | 83.0% | 86.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 88.9% | 87.4% | 89.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.6% | 87.5% | 89.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 86.9% | 86.4% | 87.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.0% | 82.4% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.0% | 75.5% | 81.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 72.7% | 70.7% | 74.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Africa Eastern and Southern
More health data for Africa Eastern and Southern
- Population ages 50-54, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per capita 0.054 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate 3.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.0144 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, annual growth rate 2.72 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate 3.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, per capita 0.0158 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, annual growth rate 4.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Age dependency ratio, young in Africa Eastern and Southern was 70.7% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The highest recorded value was 89.6% in 1977.
- What is the lowest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.7% in 2025.
- How does Africa Eastern and Southern rank for age dependency ratio, young?
- Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 8th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is age dependency ratio, young rising or falling in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Africa Eastern and Southern data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Age dependency ratio, young (% of working-age population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Age dependency ratio, young, is the ratio of younger dependents--people younger than 15--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population.