Age dependency breakdown in Macao

Macao: Age dependency breakdown was 18.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
18.6%
Change on year
up 6.6%
World rank
87th
of 236 countries
All-time high
29.6%
in 1974
All-time low
4.5%
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Age dependency breakdown in Macao, 1950–2023

0102030195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Macao recorded 18.6% for age dependency breakdown in 2023.

That represents a change of up 6.6% on the previous year and up 90.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, age dependency breakdown in Macao peaked at 29.6% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1950.

Macao ranks 87th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Age dependency breakdown in Macao, year by year

Annual values for Age dependency breakdown in Macao, 1950 to 2023.
Year % Change
1950 4.5%
1951 4.6% +2.1%
1952 4.9% +5.0%
1953 5.1% +6.1%
1954 5.5% +7.3%
1955 6.0% +8.8%
1956 6.6% +9.8%
1957 7.3% +10.4%
1958 8.0% +9.9%
1959 8.7% +9.0%
1960 9.5% +8.8%
1961 9.8% +3.4%
1962 9.7% -1.3%
1963 9.6% -1.1%
1964 9.5% -1.2%
1965 9.3% -1.6%
1966 9.0% -3.5%
1967 8.6% -4.3%
1968 8.3% -3.0%
1969 8.2% -1.9%
1970 8.0% -1.7%
1971 7.5% -7.0%
1972 6.2% -17.1%
1973 13.2% +112.7%
1974 29.6% +124.4%
1975 24.9% -16.0%
1976 21.2% -14.7%
1977 18.3% -13.9%
1978 15.8% -13.4%
1979 13.8% -12.9%
1980 12.1% -11.9%
1981 11.2% -7.4%
1982 11.0% -2.3%
1983 10.8% -1.3%
1984 10.7% -1.5%
1985 10.5% -1.7%
1986 10.3% -1.8%
1987 10.1% -2.0%
1988 9.8% -3.3%
1989 9.5% -2.8%
1990 9.4% -0.9%
1991 9.4% +0.2%
1992 9.6% +1.5%
1993 9.7% +1.9%
1994 9.9% +1.5%
1995 10.0% +1.2%
1996 10.1% +1.0%
1997 10.2% +0.6%
1998 10.2% +0.4%
1999 10.2% +0.0%
2000 10.2% -0.3%
2001 10.1% -0.8%
2002 9.9% -1.9%
2003 9.7% -2.6%
2004 9.4% -2.7%
2005 9.1% -2.8%
2006 8.9% -2.6%
2007 8.7% -2.1%
2008 8.6% -1.3%
2009 8.6% -0.2%
2010 8.7% +1.1%
2011 8.9% +2.7%
2012 9.3% +4.2%
2013 9.8% +5.4%
2014 10.4% +6.0%
2015 11.0% +6.1%
2016 11.6% +5.8%
2017 12.3% +6.0%
2018 13.1% +6.6%
2019 14.1% +7.3%
2020 15.2% +7.9%
2021 16.3% +7.5%
2022 17.4% +6.7%
2023 18.6% +6.6%

Macao compared with similar countries

  • Macao's 18.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 25.9%, 72% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Macao's 18.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 10.6%, 1.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Age dependency breakdown in Macao changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1974 +124.4% 13.2% 29.6%
1973 +112.7% 6.2% 13.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 6.1% 4.5% 8.7% 10
1960s 9.2% 8.2% 9.8% 10
1970s 15.9% 6.2% 29.6% 10
1980s 10.6% 9.5% 12.1% 10
1990s 9.9% 9.4% 10.2% 10
2000s 9.3% 8.6% 10.2% 10
2010s 10.9% 8.7% 14.1% 10
2020s 16.9% 15.2% 18.6% 4

Countries ranked near Macao

  1. 84 Armenia 19.6% compare
  2. 85 Guam 19.6% compare
  3. 86 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 19.0% compare
  4. 88 Argentina 18.6% compare
  5. 89 Dominica 18.4% compare
  6. 90 Mauritius 18.0% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Macao

All data for Macao →

Frequently asked questions

What is age dependency breakdown in Macao?
Age dependency breakdown in Macao was 18.6% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest age dependency breakdown recorded in Macao?
The highest recorded value was 29.6% in 1974.
What is the lowest age dependency breakdown recorded in Macao?
The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1950.
How does Macao rank for age dependency breakdown?
Macao ranks 87th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is age dependency breakdown rising or falling in Macao?
Over the last ten years it is up 90.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Macao data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age dependency breakdown. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Age dependency breakdown in Macao. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/age-dependency-breakdown/macao-sar-china/

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About this data

Indicator
Age dependency breakdown
Unit
%
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Number of people aged 65 and over per 100 working-age people (aged 15 to 64).