how can you calculate the dependency ratio or percentage
Answers
The total dependency ratio tells us the proportion of the population not in the work-force who are ‘dependent’ on those of working-age, it’s a calculation which groups those aged under 15 with those over 65 years as the ‘dependants’ and classifying those aged 15-64 years as the working-age population. It’s a simplistic calculation which is used across the world to understand societies and get a sense of potential pressures the economy may face in supporting an economically dependent population. A youth dependency ratio, or an older dependency ratio, are pretty self-explanatory, they are ratios which compare the proportion of people in those age-groups to those in the working-age population.
One of the obvious limitations of dependency ratios is the assumption that people under 15 years and over 65 years (65+) are outside of the labour force, as well as the assumption that those aged 15-64 are participating in the labour force. We all know that these assumptions are flawed. Dependency ratios are helpful for comparing society over time, as well as to compare counties. Statistics New Zealand included the dependency ratio in suite of population indicators within its sustainable development framework.