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

Latest (2025)
50.3%
Change on year
down 1.7%
All-time high
83.9%
in 1972
All-time low
50.3%
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Age dependency ratio, young in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1960–2025

020406080196019922025

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.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

More health data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

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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.
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

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About this data

Indicator
Age dependency ratio, young (% of working-age population)
Unit
% of working-age population
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.