AlphaBetaMinds Search 909 tools…

World data · 194 countries · updated October 2026

Youth dependency ratio by country

How many children under 15 each country has per 100 working-age adults, ranked — the number behind how much of a society goes into raising the next generation.

The short answer

Central African Republic leads the 194 countries ranked here on youth dependency ratio at 99 / 100, followed by Somalia at 92 / 100 and Chad at 89 / 100. The median country is Malaysia at 34 / 100, against a world average of 39 / 100.

#1 99 / 100 Central African Republic Sub-Saharan Africa #2 92 / 100 Somalia Sub-Saharan Africa #3 89 / 100 Chad Sub-Saharan Africa Median 34 / 100 Malaysia The middle of 194
World 39 / 100 World average Population-weighted

What this measures

The number of people aged 0–14 per 100 people aged 15–64.

What it does not

It treats everyone aged 15–64 as working and everyone under 15 as dependent, which is a simplification in both directions.

The bottom of the table

Andorra 16 / 100
Singapore 16 / 100
South Korea 16 / 100
Puerto Rico 18 / 100
San Marino 18 / 100

Bars are scaled across the full observed range (16 / 100 to 99 / 100), not to 100%, so the real spread is visible.

How the values are spread

Where the 194 countries fall

The range from 16 / 100 to 99 / 100 is split into 10 equal bands, and each bar counts the countries in one band.

Number of countries in each band of youth dependency ratio
BandCountriesIncluding
16.0 to 24.3 per 100 50 Bahrain, Romania, Czechia and 47 more
24.3 to 32.6 per 100 42 Iran, Georgia, Colombia and 39 more
32.6 to 40.9 per 100 25 Libya, Lebanon, Ecuador and 22 more
40.9 to 49.2 per 100 17 Turkmenistan, Haiti, Algeria and 14 more
49.2 to 57.5 per 100 12 Kiribati, Lesotho, Marshall Islands and 9 more
57.5 to 65.8 per 100 18 Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan and 15 more
65.8 to 74.1 per 100 17 Benin, Burkina Faso, Yemen and 14 more
74.1 to 82.4 per 100 6 Mozambique, Tanzania, Mauritania and 3 more
82.4 to 90.7 per 100 5 Chad, DR Congo, Mali and 2 more
90.7 to 99.0 per 100 2 Central African Republic, Somalia

How this is built: each band is one tenth of the gap between the lowest and highest value; a country is counted in the band its value falls in, and the top band includes the highest value. Countries with no comparable figure are left out. Chart drawn with Apache ECharts.

The full ranking

All 194 countries

Click any column heading to re-sort. Type to filter, or pick a region. Every country name links to its full profile.

194 countries shown

Youth dependency ratio by country, ranked. Column headings re-sort the table.
Rank Country Youth dependency ratio Bar Region Gen Alpha
#1 Central African Republic 99 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 3m
#2 Somalia 92 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 10m
#3 Chad 89 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 10m
#4 DR Congo 88 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 44m
#5 Mali 88 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 12m
#6 Uganda 85 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 20m
#7 Angola 84 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 15m
#8 Mozambique 82 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 14m
#9 Tanzania 80 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 28m
#10 Mauritania 78 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 2m
#11 Afghanistan 78 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 17m
#12 Nigeria 77 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 95m
#13 Cameroon 76 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 12m
#14 Benin 74 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 6m
#15 Burkina Faso 73 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 10m
#16 Yemen 73 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 18m
#17 Sudan 72 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 19m
#18 Côte d'Ivoire 72 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 12m
#19 Zambia 72 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 9m
#20 Senegal 72 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 7m
#21 Guinea 72 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 6m
#22 Togo 72 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 4m
#23 Malawi 70 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 9m
#24 Zimbabwe 70 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 7m
#25 Republic of the Congo 70 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 3m
#26 Gambia 70 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 1m
#27 Madagascar 68 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 13m
#28 Liberia 68 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 2m
#29 Samoa 68 / 100
Oceania 84k
#30 Guinea-Bissau 66 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 881k
#31 Ethiopia 65 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 48m
#32 Eritrea 65 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 1m
#33 South Sudan 64 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 5m
#34 Sierra Leone 64 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 3m
#35 São Tomé and Príncipe 64 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 92k
#36 Palestine 64 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 2m
#37 Rwanda 63 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 6m
#38 Equatorial Guinea 63 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 736k
#39 Comoros 63 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 331k
#40 Iraq 63 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 16m
#41 Kenya 62 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 19m
#42 Namibia 62 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 1m
#43 Nauru 62 / 100
Oceania 5k
#44 Gabon 61 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 959k
#45 Tonga 60 / 100
Oceania 36k
#46 Tajikistan 60 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 4m
#47 Ghana 58 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 12m
#48 Pakistan 58 / 100
South Asia 80m
#49 Kiribati 56 / 100
Oceania 48k
#50 Lesotho 55 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 815k
#51 Marshall Islands 55 / 100
Oceania 12k
#52 Tuvalu 55 / 100
Oceania 3k
#53 Timor-Leste 54 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 476k
#54 Eswatini 53 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 419k
#55 Guatemala 53 / 100
Latin America 6m
#56 Egypt 52 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 34m
#57 Micronesia 51 / 100
Oceania 36k
#58 Kyrgyzstan 51 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 2m
#59 Mongolia 50 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 1m
#60 Uzbekistan 50 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 12m
#61 Turkmenistan 49 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 2m
#62 Haiti 48 / 100
Latin America 4m
#63 Algeria 47 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 14m
#64 Kazakhstan 47 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 6m
#65 Jordan 46 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 4m
#66 Philippines 46 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 32m
#67 Laos 46 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 2m
#68 Honduras 46 / 100
Latin America 3m
#69 Israel 45 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 3m
#70 Guyana 45 / 100
Latin America 243k
#71 Bolivia 44 / 100
Latin America 3m
#72 Paraguay 44 / 100
Latin America 2m
#73 South Africa 43 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 17m
#74 Syria 43 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 8m
#75 Djibouti 43 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 345k
#76 Nicaragua 43 / 100
Latin America 2m
#77 Nepal 42 / 100
South Asia 8m
#78 Libya 40 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 2m
#79 Lebanon 40 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 2m
#80 Ecuador 40 / 100
Latin America 4m
#81 Dominican Republic 40 / 100
Latin America 3m
#82 Venezuela 39 / 100
Latin America 7m
#83 Morocco 38 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 10m
#84 Bangladesh 38 / 100
South Asia 44m
#85 Peru 38 / 100
Latin America 8m
#86 Suriname 38 / 100
Latin America 163k
#87 Belize 38 / 100
Latin America 113k
#88 India 37 / 100
South Asia 327m
#89 Myanmar 37 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 13m
#90 Argentina 37 / 100
Latin America 11m
#91 Panama 37 / 100
Latin America 1m
#92 Cape Verde 36 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 131k
#93 Indonesia 36 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 68m
#94 Mexico 36 / 100
North America 31m
#95 El Salvador 36 / 100
Latin America 2m
#96 Saudi Arabia 35 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 9m
#97 Tunisia 35 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 3m
#98 Malaysia 34 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 8m
#99 Turkey 33 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 19m
#100 Oman 33 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 1m
#101 Sri Lanka 33 / 100
South Asia 4m
#102 Vietnam 33 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 23m
#103 Iran 32 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 18m
#104 Georgia 32 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 780k
#105 Colombia 32 / 100
Latin America 11m
#106 Moldova 31 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 578k
#107 St Vincent and the Grenadines 31 / 100
Latin America 21k
#108 Azerbaijan 30 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 2m
#109 Ireland 30 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#110 Brunei 29 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 97k
#111 New Zealand 29 / 100
Oceania 1m
#112 Armenia 29 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 557k
#113 Brazil 29 / 100
Latin America 44m
#114 Seychelles 28 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 27k
#115 North Korea 28 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 5m
#116 Russia 28 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 26m
#117 Montenegro 28 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 112k
#118 Grenada 28 / 100
Latin America 22k
#119 Australia 27 / 100
Oceania 5m
#120 France 27 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 12m
#121 Sweden 27 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 2m
#122 Gibraltar 27 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 7k
#123 Monaco 27 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 5k
#124 United States 27 / 100
North America 62m
#125 Chile 27 / 100
Latin America 4m
#126 Costa Rica 27 / 100
Latin America 947k
#127 Uruguay 27 / 100
Latin America 605k
#128 Palau 26 / 100
Oceania 3k
#129 United Kingdom 26 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 12m
#130 Norway 26 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 900k
#131 Iceland 26 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 70k
#132 Barbados 26 / 100
Latin America 48k
#133 St Kitts and Nevis 26 / 100
Latin America 9k
#134 Maldives 25 / 100
South Asia 101k
#135 Belgium 25 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 2m
#136 Denmark 25 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 937k
#137 Albania 25 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 457k
#138 North Macedonia 25 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 298k
#139 Jamaica 25 / 100
Latin America 518k
#140 Trinidad and Tobago 25 / 100
Latin America 265k
#141 Bahamas 25 / 100
Latin America 71k
#142 Aruba 25 / 100
Latin America 18k
#143 Antigua and Barbuda 25 / 100
Latin America 17k
#144 Dominica 25 / 100
Latin America 12k
#145 Bahrain 24 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 309k
#146 Romania 24 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 3m
#147 Czechia 24 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 2m
#148 Belarus 24 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#149 Slovakia 24 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 849k
#150 Latvia 24 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 279k
#151 Estonia 24 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 203k
#152 St Lucia 24 / 100
Latin America 31k
#153 Kuwait 23 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 917k
#154 China 23 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 230m
#155 Ukraine 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 6m
#156 Poland 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 6m
#157 Netherlands 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 3m
#158 Switzerland 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#159 Bulgaria 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 960k
#160 Serbia 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 947k
#161 Finland 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 806k
#162 Slovenia 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 306k
#163 Cyprus 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 222k
#164 Luxembourg 23 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 108k
#165 Canada 23 / 100
North America 6m
#166 Thailand 22 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 11m
#167 Hungary 22 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#168 Austria 22 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#169 Croatia 22 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 524k
#170 Lithuania 22 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 406k
#171 Liechtenstein 22 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 6k
#172 Cuba 22 / 100
Latin America 2m
#173 Cayman Islands 22 / 100
Latin America 12k
#174 Turks and Caicos Islands 22 / 100
Latin America 8k
#175 Germany 21 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 12m
#176 Spain 21 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 6m
#177 Bermuda 21 / 100
North America 9k
#178 Curaçao 21 / 100
Latin America 27k
#179 Sint Maarten 21 / 100
Latin America 7k
#180 Mauritius 20 / 100
Sub-Saharan Africa 184k
#181 Portugal 20 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#182 Greece 20 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 1m
#183 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 400k
#184 United Arab Emirates 19 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 2m
#185 Malta 19 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 71k
#186 British Virgin Islands 19 / 100
Latin America 6k
#187 Qatar 18 / 100
Middle East & North Africa 476k
#188 Japan 18 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 14m
#189 Italy 18 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 7m
#190 San Marino 18 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 4k
#191 Puerto Rico 18 / 100
Latin America 362k
#192 South Korea 16 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 6m
#193 Singapore 16 / 100
East Asia & Pacific 690k
#194 Andorra 16 / 100
Europe & Central Asia 10k

Reading the table

The youth dependency ratio answers a question the raw child count cannot: how much weight is each working adult carrying?

DR Congo has 88 children under 15 for every 100 working-age adults. South Korea has 16. That means a Congolese worker supports roughly five and a half times as many children as a Korean one, before anything else is accounted for.

High youth dependency is not a failure state. It is the front half of a demographic dividend: those children become workers, and if the education and jobs exist when they arrive, the ratio flips into the single largest growth opportunity a country ever gets. Every East Asian economic miracle ran through exactly this window.

The countries to watch are the ones with high youth dependency and low secondary completion — Mozambique, Ethiopia, Afghanistan. They have the children. Whether the dividend arrives depends entirely on what happens in the classrooms over the next fifteen years.

Run the numbers yourself

Tools that use this data

Dependency Ratio Projector

Youth and old-age dependency projected forward, and the point where one replaces the other.

→

Frequently asked

What is the youth dependency ratio?

The number of children under 15 per 100 working-age adults. It measures how much of a society's productive capacity goes into raising the next generation.

Which country has the highest youth dependency?

DR Congo, at about 88 children under 15 per 100 working-age adults.

Is high youth dependency bad?

Not inherently. It is the first half of a demographic dividend — those children become workers. Whether it pays off depends on whether education and jobs exist when they arrive.

How many countries are in this table?

This table ranks 194 countries with a comparable figure, out of the 194 countries profiled on AlphaBetaMinds. The countries in this table hold about 98% of the world population.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes, free of charge and commercially, with a credit to AlphaBetaMinds and a link to this page. The full dataset is also available as plain text at https://alphabetaminds.com/llms-countries.txt.

Other data tables
Generation Alpha population Generation Alpha share of population Projected Generation Beta births Under-15 population share Total fertility rate Median age Births per day School starting age Compulsory years of schooling Secondary school completion Daily screen time, ages 8–12 Internet use Cost of raising a child to 18 Life expectancy at birth Urban population share Under-15 population change to 2040
Cite this table

AlphaBetaMinds (2026). Youth dependency ratio by country. Retrieved from https://alphabetaminds.com/data/youth-dependency-ratio-by-country

Download the full dataset (CSV)

Sources: UN World Population Prospects, World Bank Open Data, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ITU. Figures are 2025–2026 estimates. Method on our methodology page.