Modern Language Association (of America) Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition Â© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Â© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Cite This Source
(b) Limitations of the Indicators: The dependency ratio is an approximation to the ratio of net consumers to net producers. As a proxy for that ratio, the dependency ratio suggests that children under age 15 as well as persons aged 65 or over are economically dependent. In many populations, however, people do not stop being economically active at age 65, nor is it true that all persons aged 15-64 are economically active.
For example, the old-age dependency ratio increased by more than 4 percentage points (or by 16.6 % of its former value) during the past decade (from 24.7 % in 2005 to 28.8 % in 2015). Population pyramids (see Figures 4 and 5) show the distribution of the population by sex and by five-year age groups. Each bar corresponds to the share of the given sex and age group in the total population (men and women combined).