Sri Lanka: Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Sri Lanka's age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population) rose 0.57 percentage points on 2024 (from 18.38% to 18.95%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.3 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.57 percentage points in 2025 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.24 percentage points in 1961. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.53 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 100% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 20.52% for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.03%, against 1.12% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, Sri Lanka had the 79th highest value of the 217 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Sri Lanka in the 2025 ranking

• Singapore — 75th of 217: 19.18%
• Dominica — 76th of 217: 19.08%
• Argentina — 77th of 217: 19.04%
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 79th of 217: 18.59%
• Trinidad and Tobago — 80th of 217: 18.58%
• Costa Rica — 81st of 217: 18.5%

What this measures

Age dependency ratio, old, is the ratio of older dependents--people older than 64--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population.

Limitations: Because the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used in the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects, interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. For more information, see the original source.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 66 values

Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 10.15% (2025)
• Bhutan — 9.08% (2025)
• India — 10.78% (2025)
• Maldives — 6.52% (2025)
• Nepal — 10.14% (2025)

More health data for Sri Lanka

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 6.56% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.3% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 2.31 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 20.6% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 2.41 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 22.87% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 4.72 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 21.7% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 6.81% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Sri Lanka's age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population)?

18.95% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 11.25 percentage points from 7.71% in 1960. The highest value was 18.95% in 2025 and the lowest 6.75% in 1968.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.POP.DPND.OL, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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