Old-age dependency ratio in Barbados
Barbados: Old-age dependency ratio was 24.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Old-age dependency ratio in Barbados, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Barbados recorded 24.2% for old-age dependency ratio in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and up 33.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, old-age dependency ratio in Barbados peaked at 24.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 7.8%, in 1961.
Barbados ranks 66th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 8.5% | 7.9% | 9.0% | 10 |
| 1960s | 8.4% | 7.8% | 9.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 10.1% | 9.5% | 10.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.8% | 11.1% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.6% | 16.5% | 16.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.8% | 16.7% | 17.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 17.4% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.2% | 22.0% | 24.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
More reference data data for Barbados
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Consumer price index 146.53 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Democracy 7 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 1 (2025)
- Free country 2 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is old-age dependency ratio in Barbados?
- Old-age dependency ratio in Barbados was 24.2% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest old-age dependency ratio recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 24.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest old-age dependency ratio recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.8% in 1961.
- How does Barbados rank for old-age dependency ratio?
- Barbados ranks 66th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is old-age dependency ratio rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Barbados data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Old-age dependency ratio. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of people aged 65 and over per 100 working-age people (aged 15 to 64).