Age dependency ratio, young in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Age dependency ratio, young was 71.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Age dependency ratio, young in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) is 71.6%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency ratio, young in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 88.7% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 71.6%, in 2025.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 81.7% | 79.6% | 84.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 86.5% | 84.5% | 88.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.6% | 88.3% | 88.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 87.1% | 85.9% | 88.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.1% | 83.1% | 85.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.5% | 77.4% | 82.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.0% | 71.6% | 76.4% | 6 |
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Population ages 65 and above 3.2% (2025)
- Population, male 658.72 million (2025)
- Population, female 50.2% (2025)
- Age dependency ratio 78.1% (2025)
- Population, female 662.81 million (2025)
- Age dependency ratio, old 5.7% (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, male 18.77 million (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, female 23.94 million (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, female 3.6% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, total 745.17 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age dependency ratio, young in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Age dependency ratio, young in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 71.6% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 88.7% in 1984.
- What is the lowest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 71.6% in 2025.
- Is age dependency ratio, young rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 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.