Dependency ratio

The proportion of the population that is not of working age, compared with that which could work, if it chose to. Conventionally, dependants are defined as those aged up to 14 or over 65. Sometimes the figures are separated into youth dependency and old-age dependency. The higher the ratio, the greater the tax burden that is likely to fall on the working population; this is a problem for many developed economies, given the numbers now surviving into old age. See also economically inactive.