Countries With the Fastest Decline in Median age proxy (age dependency ratio) (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Decline in Median age proxy (age dependency ratio) (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in Age dependency ratio over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that fell are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Syrian Arab Republic fell the most: by 14.4, from 64.3 dependants per 100 working-age people to 49.9 dependants per 100 working-age people in the five years to 2025. South Sudan is second (−12.5), followed by Burundi (−10.6). 121 countries fell over that period; the median change among them was −2.79.

#1: Syrian Arab Republic · −14.4
Median: −2.79
Coverage: 121 countries
Data year: 2025
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (dependants per 100 working-age people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Syrian Arab Republic -14.4; 2. South Sudan -12.5; 3. Burundi -10.6; 4. Malawi -10; 5. Burkina Faso -9.21; 6. Timor-Leste -8.87; 7. Eritrea -8.19; 8. Kenya -7.95; 9. Senegal -7.5; 10. Chad -7.44.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Decline in Median age proxy (age dependency ratio) (5-Year Change), 2025
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (dependants per 100 working-age people)
1	Syrian Arab Republic	64.3	49.9	−14.4
2	South Sudan	82.2	69.7	−12.5
3	Burundi	97.6	87	−10.6
4	Malawi	84.6	74.6	−10
5	Burkina Faso	87.3	78.1	−9.21
6	Timor-Leste	71.1	62.2	−8.87
7	Eritrea	80.2	72	−8.19
8	Kenya	72.6	64.7	−7.95
9	Senegal	78.1	70.6	−7.5
10	Chad	100.1	92.6	−7.44
11	Nigeria	84.5	77.3	−7.25
12	São Tomé and Principe	77.9	70.6	−7.21
13	Zambia	82.3	75.4	−6.94
14	Liberia	80.5	73.7	−6.84
15	Iraq	72	65.2	−6.76
16	Uganda	89.7	82.9	−6.75
17	Niger	102.2	95.5	−6.73
18	Mali	99.2	92.9	−6.35
19	Zimbabwe	84.4	78.1	−6.31
20	Guinea-Bissau	77.2	71.1	−6.06
21	Gambia, The	81.2	75.2	−6.04
22	Sierra Leone	75.3	69.3	−5.99
23	Guatemala	62.2	56.2	−5.98
24	Philippines	54.8	48.9	−5.87
25	Kuwait	32.7	26.8	−5.83
26	Cabo Verde	52.4	46.7	−5.66
27	Solomon Islands	72.8	67.3	−5.5
28	Afghanistan	87.2	81.8	−5.47
29	Guinea	83.8	78.6	−5.15
30	Mauritania	89	83.9	−5.02
31	Côte d'Ivoire	80.8	75.8	−4.98
32	Congo, Rep.	80.3	75.5	−4.81
33	Rwanda	74.3	69.6	−4.7
34	Bhutan	41.6	37	−4.66
35	Libya	51.8	47.1	−4.62
36	Cameroon	82.9	78.4	−4.52
37	Ethiopia	77.1	72.6	−4.41
38	Lesotho	65.6	61.2	−4.4
39	Jordan	58.1	53.7	−4.35
40	Argentina	55	50.7	−4.31
41	West Bank and Gaza	75.1	70.8	−4.3
42	Benin	84.1	79.9	−4.24
43	Comoros	74.6	70.4	−4.2
44	Belize	50.1	46	−4.13
45	Ghana	68.6	64.5	−4.09
46	Djibouti	55	51	−4
47	Mozambique	92.3	88.3	−3.96
48	Nicaragua	55.2	51.5	−3.7
49	Pakistan	72.1	68.4	−3.7
50	Bolivia	57.9	54.3	−3.64
51	Haiti	58.8	55.2	−3.59
52	Nepal	56.7	53.1	−3.57
53	Madagascar	77.1	73.6	−3.48
54	Tanzania	86.5	83.1	−3.45
55	Egypt, Arab Rep.	61.7	58.3	−3.43
56	Honduras	56.7	53.4	−3.29
57	Ecuador	51.4	48.1	−3.27
58	Eswatini	62.8	59.6	−3.17
59	El Salvador	51.6	48.6	−3.04
60	Lao PDR	55.9	53	−2.86
61	Venezuela, RB	56.5	53.7	−2.79
62	American Samoa	56.3	53.6	−2.76
63	Malaysia	44.3	41.5	−2.74
64	Papua New Guinea	60.8	58.1	−2.73
65	Angola	91.4	88.7	−2.71
66	Sudan	79.9	77.3	−2.63
67	Peru	52	49.4	−2.59
68	India	48.7	46.1	−2.59
69	Lebanon	58.9	56.3	−2.58
70	Saudi Arabia	38.9	36.4	−2.53
71	Uruguay	54.2	51.9	−2.24
72	Vanuatu	75.6	73.4	−2.21
73	Oman	39.2	37	−2.2
74	Faroe Islands	62.4	60.4	−2.05
75	British Virgin Islands	33.9	31.9	−2
76	Maldives	33.5	31.6	−1.96
77	Mexico	50.3	48.4	−1.91
78	Fiji	52.2	50.3	−1.9
79	Bangladesh	54.1	52.2	−1.83
80	Botswana	58.1	56.3	−1.79
81	Kosovo	45.6	43.9	−1.73
82	Bahamas, The	43.8	42.1	−1.68
83	Jamaica	38.3	36.7	−1.59
84	Cambodia	57.5	55.9	−1.58
85	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	98.3	96.7	−1.55
86	Equatorial Guinea	70.6	69.1	−1.52
87	Indonesia	48	46.6	−1.42
88	Gabon	69	67.7	−1.24
89	Bahrain	30.2	28.9	−1.24
90	Togo	79.5	78.3	−1.19
91	Panama	53.1	51.9	−1.16
92	South Africa	49.5	48.4	−1.11
93	Yemen, Rep.	78.2	77.2	−1.05
94	Tonga	72.7	71.7	−1
95	Kiribati	64.2	63.2	−0.994
96	Central African Republic	104.6	103.6	−0.96
97	Ireland	53.1	52.2	−0.838
98	Iran, Islamic Rep.	44.9	44.1	−0.837
99	Namibia	68.7	67.9	−0.768
100	Morocco	51.4	50.7	−0.731

Showing the top 100 of 121. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#1 Syrian Arab Republic

Syrian Arab Republic ranks #1 on this list with −14.4.

Capital: Damascus
Continent: Asia
Income group: Low income
Population: 25.62 million people (2025)
GDP: US$23.74 billion (2022)
GDP per person: US$1,057 (2022)
Life expectancy: 72.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 72.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Damascus, Aleppo.

Also ranks #2 in refugee population by origin · #2 in agriculture value added share of gdp · #3 in net migration.

Full country profile

#2 South Sudan

South Sudan ranks #2 on this list with −12.5.

Capital: Juba
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 12.19 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 21.7% of population (2025)
Currency: South Sudanese pound
Official languages: English

Also ranks #1 in infant mortality rate · #4 in inflation rate · #4 in maternal mortality ratio.

Full country profile

#3 Burundi

Burundi ranks #3 on this list with −10.6.

Capital: Gitega
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.39 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$233.8 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 25.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #3 in forest rents share of gdp · #3 in real effective exchange rate index.

Full country profile

#4 Malawi

Malawi ranks #4 on this list with −10.

Capital: Lilongwe
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 22.22 million people (2025)
GDP: US$14.92 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$671.5 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 17.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in school enrolment (primary) · #3 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary) · #3 in poverty headcount ratio.

Full country profile

#5 Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso ranks #5 on this list with −9.21.

Capital: Ouagadougou
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 24.08 million people (2025)
GDP: US$27.63 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,148 (2025)
Life expectancy: 61.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 28.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Ouagadougou.

Also ranks #7 in mineral rents share of gdp · #9 in children out of school (primary) · #11 in under-5 mortality rate.

Full country profile

#6 Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste ranks #6 on this list with −8.87.

Capital: Dili
Continent: Asia
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 1.42 million people (2025)
GDP: US$1.9 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,341 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 28.8% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in smoking prevalence · #3 in government revenue share of gdp · #4 in prevalence of stunting (under-5).

Full country profile

#7 Eritrea

Eritrea ranks #7 on this list with −8.19.

Capital: Asmara
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 3.61 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 34.5% of population (2025)
International tourist arrivals: 142,000 arrivals (2016)
CO2 emissions per person: 0.22 t CO2e per person (2024)

Also ranks #5 in time to start a business (days) · #9 in refugee population by origin · #12 in female labour force participation.

Full country profile

#8 Kenya

Kenya ranks #8 on this list with −7.95.

Capital: Nairobi
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 57.53 million people (2025)
GDP: US$135.94 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$2,363 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 32.2% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Nairobi, Mombasa.

Also ranks #8 in prevalence of undernourishment · #8 in deposit interest rate · #12 in poverty headcount ratio.

Full country profile

#9 Senegal

Senegal ranks #9 on this list with −7.5.

Capital: Dakar
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 18.93 million people (2025)
GDP: US$37.01 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,955 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 55.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Dakar.

Also ranks #1 in gender parity index (school enrolment) · #3 in crop production index · #8 in debt service share of exports.

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#10 Chad

Chad ranks #10 on this list with −7.44.

Capital: N'Djamena
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 21 million people (2025)
GDP: US$21.47 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,022 (2025)
Life expectancy: 55.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 27.6% of population (2025)

Largest cities: N'Djamena.

Also ranks #1 in fertility rate · #2 in birth rate · #2 in maternal mortality ratio.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Change in Age dependency ratio over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that fell are listed.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SP.POP.DPND. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Age dependency ratio (% of working-age population): World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).

Values are shown as published (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Syrian Arab Republic

#2 South Sudan

#3 Burundi

#4 Malawi

#5 Burkina Faso

#6 Timor-Leste

#7 Eritrea

#8 Kenya

#9 Senegal

#10 Chad

Related rankings

Source and method