Dependency Ratio - Ranking 2023
In 2023, Qatar (20.10), United Arab Emirates (22.00), and Kuwait (27.48) ranked highest in dependency ratio among all countries. Central African Republic ranked lowest at 105.18.
Data & analysis
- Central African Republic — 105.17
- Monaco — 99.03
- Congo, Democratic Republic of — 96.57
- Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 96.32
- Niger — 95.48
The 2025 dependency ratio data reveals a stark global divide in demographic burden. The top of the ranking is dominated by nations with exceptionally high ratios, where dependents nearly equal or exceed the working-age population. The Central African Republic leads at 105.2 percent, followed closely by Monaco at 99.0 percent, indicating extreme pressure on the productive labor force. This pattern binds Sub-Saharan African states like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger, which combine high fertility with limited aging infrastructure, alongside wealthy Monaco, where a small workforce supports a large elderly and non-working population. At the bottom, Qatar’s 20.1 percent ratio reflects a structural reliance on vast numbers of imported male laborers, artificially inflating the working-age denominator. These Gulf states, including the UAE and Kuwait, maintain low dependency through temporary migration policies. Shifts in global migration flows or sustained fertility declines in Sub-Saharan Africa could reshuffle this leaderboard in the coming decades.
| Rank | Country | Value | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|