Dependency ratio - Cities and FUAs by country

<p align="justify">This dataset provides an indicator of dependency ratios for OECD Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) and cities.</p> <h3>Data sources and methodology</h3> <p align="justify"> Dependency ratios are derived from population by age and sex data collected at the level of small administrative units (e.g....

Countries reporting
2
Highest
19 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years
Armenia
Lowest
17.6 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years
Luxembourg
Median
18.3 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years
Years covered
46
1980–2025
Data points
27,881

What the numbers show

Dependency ratio - Cities and FUAs is currently reported for 2 countries. The highest value is 19 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years in Armenia; the lowest is 17.6 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years in Luxembourg.

The median across all reporting countries is 18.3 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years, and the mean is 18.3 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years.

Over the past decade 1 countries rose and 1 fell. The largest increase was in Armenia (up 43.9%), and the largest decrease in Luxembourg (down 4.3%).

Dependency ratio - Cities and FUAs: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Armenia 19 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years 2019 up 43.9% rising
2 Luxembourg 17.6 Percentage of population aged 15-64 years 2022 down 4.3% falling

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Dependency ratio - Cities and FUAs by country. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/dependency-ratio-cities-and-fuas/

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About this data

Indicator
Dependency ratio - Cities and FUAs
Unit
Percentage of population aged 15-64 years
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
1,260 places, 27,881 data points, 1980–2025
Last refreshed

<p align="justify">This dataset provides an indicator of dependency ratios for OECD Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) and cities.</p> <h3>Data sources and methodology</h3> <p align="justify"> Dependency ratios are derived from population by age and sex data collected at the level of small administrative units (e.g. municipalities) and aggregated at the FUA and city level. The correspondence table between SAUs and FUAs/cities is available in <a href=https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/cities_local_areas/fua_cities_sau_mapping.parquet>parquet </a> and <a href=https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/cities_local_areas/fua_cities_sau_mapping.csv>csv</a> format.<br /><br /> </p> <h3>Defining FUAs and cities</h3> <p align="justify">The OECD, in cooperation with the EU, has developed a harmonised <a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecd-definition-of-cities-and-functional-urban-areas.html">definition of functional urban areas</a> (FUAs) to capture the economic and functional reach of cities based on daily commuting patterns <a href=https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264174108-en>(OECD, 2012)</a>. FUAs consist of: <ol> <li><b>A city</b> – defined by urban centres in the degree of urbanisation, adapted to the closest local administrative units to define a city.</li> <li><b>A commuting zone</b> – including all local areas where at least 15% of employed residents work in the city.</li> </ol> The delineation process includes: <ul> <li>Assigning municipalities surrounded by a single FUA to that FUA.</li> <li>Excluding non-contiguous municipalities.</li> </ul> <p>The definition identifies 1 272 FUAs and 1 269 cities in all OECD member countries except Costa Rica and three accession countries.</p> <h3>Cite this dataset</h3> <p>OECD Regions, cities and local areas database (<a href=http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/1ds>Dependency ratio - Cities and FUAs</a>),Β <a href="http://oe.cd/geostats">http://oe.cd/geostats</a></p> <h3>Further information</h3> <ul> <li> <a href=https://localdataportal.oecd.org/>OECD Local Data Portal </a> </li> <li> <a href=https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html/>OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance </a> </li> </ul> <p align="justify">For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:CitiesStat@oecd.org">CitiesStat@oecd.org</a>