Age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Age dependency ratio, young was 50.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in % of working-age population.
Analysis
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan recorded 50.3% for age dependency ratio, young in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 83.9% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 50.3%, in 2025.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 17th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % of working-age population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 78.2% | — |
| 1961 | 79.0% | +1.0% |
| 1962 | 79.7% | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 80.5% | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 81.3% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 82.0% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 82.7% | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 83.2% | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 83.5% | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 83.7% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 83.9% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 83.9% | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 83.9% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 83.9% | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 83.7% | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 83.6% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 83.6% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 83.5% | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 83.3% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 83.0% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 82.5% | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 81.9% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 81.4% | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 81.4% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 81.5% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 81.6% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 81.6% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 81.5% | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 81.3% | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 81.1% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 80.7% | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 80.1% | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 79.6% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 79.2% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 78.4% | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 77.2% | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 75.8% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 74.2% | -2.1% |
| 1998 | 72.4% | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 70.6% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 68.8% | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 66.9% | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 65.4% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 63.9% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 62.3% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 60.8% | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 59.4% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 58.0% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 56.9% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 56.2% | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 55.7% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 55.4% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 55.2% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 55.1% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 55.2% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 55.1% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 55.0% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 54.9% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 54.8% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 54.5% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 54.1% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 53.6% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 52.8% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 52.0% | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 51.2% | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 50.3% | -1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 81.4% | 78.2% | 83.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 83.6% | 83.0% | 83.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 81.6% | 81.1% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.8% | 70.6% | 80.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 61.8% | 56.2% | 68.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 55.1% | 54.5% | 55.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.3% | 50.3% | 54.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
More health data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- Population ages 40-44, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, annual growth rate 1.93 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0387 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, annual growth rate 3.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, annual growth rate 3.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per capita 0.0337 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per capita 0.0344 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per capita 0.0305 units per person (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →
Frequently asked questions
- What is age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 50.3% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 83.9% in 1972.
- What is the lowest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.3% in 2025.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for age dependency ratio, young?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 17th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is age dependency ratio, young rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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.