(02 November 2020) – In the EU, the old-age dependency ratio stood at 34% in 2018. This means that there were on average three people of working-age (aged 20-64 years) for every older person (aged 65 or more).
In 2018, there were almost twice as many cities (476) that had an old-age dependency ratio that was below the EU average, as there were cities with a ratio above the average (261 cities).
Capital cities, other major conurbations and their surrounding areas tend to attract relatively high numbers of young people. As a result, there were a number of cities in Spain, Ireland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania that recorded very low old-age dependency ratios — many of these cities were part of conurbations close to some of Europe’s major cities.
In 2018, the lowest old-age dependency ratios were recorded in Rivas-Vaciamadrid (11%) and Valdemoro (14%), both close to the Spanish capital city of Madrid, and Galway in Ireland (14%; 2011 data).
In contrast, by far the highest old-age dependency ratio, with a ratio of at least one person aged 65+ per two working age adults, was recorded in the French coastal resort of Fréjus (65%; 2016 data).