The dependency ratio of Indonesia’s population continues to decline from year to year. The survey from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said that the ratio of Indonesian population dependence reached 45.02% in 2025, slightly rising from the population census in 2020 which reached 44.33%.
This ratio is a ratio between the number of unproductive age population (0-14 years and 65 years and over) to the number of productive age population (15-64 years). Its value illustrates how many unproductive age population to be borne by the productive age population.
The ratio that reached 45.02% in 2025 indicates that 100 productive people must bear about 45 unproductive population. This means, the smaller the value, the lower the dependence on productive groups.
In 1971, Indonesia’s population dependency ratio was 87.31%, almost double the current ratio. In that year, 100 productive age population must bear 87 other unproductive population.
From year to year, this ratio continues to fall, from 79.09% in the 1980 population census, to 67.83% in the 1990 population census. The dependency ratio fell to 54.70% in 200, and continued to fall to 51.31% in 2010. The lowest achievement was recorded in 2020, whose dependency ratio was only 44.33%.
This decrease in dependency ratio reflects the increasing number of productive age population in Indonesia, which results in demographic bonuses. This low ratio has a positive impact on the economy and social welfare, ranging from a pension system to the quality of health services. Birth rate, mortality, until life expectancy also affects the amount of this ratio.
In line with that, the composition of the Indonesian population also experienced significant changes. In 1971, the productive age population was only around 53.39%, while in 2025 the proportion rose to 64.6%. The population aged 0-14 years rose slightly from 2.49% in 1971 to 11.9% in 2025, while residents over 60 years down from 44.12% in 1971 to 23.5% in 2025.
Read too: The dependency ratio of the Indonesian elderly continues to increase
Source:
