A Note on Defining the Dependent Population Based on Age

Dependent population is defined as that part of the population that does not work and relies on others for the goods and services they consume. In practice, specific population age groups have in their entirety been categorized as dependent population, even while the definition may not necessarily apply to every individual in the population with the indicated ages. In general those categorized as dependents include the children and the elderly. The rest of the population constitutes the working age population. The delineation of any boundary for children and for working ages varies across countries and studies, has tended to be discretionary, and thus appears arbitrary. In the Philippines the delineation is based on the legal definition for working ages set at 15 to 64 years (with provision for early retirement at age 60 years.). The implied dependent ages in the Philippines are then 0-14 years and 60 or 65 years and older. The dependent ages used in the OECD definition for dependency ratio are under 20 and over 64. In other studies, children include those in the population up to age 18 or 20 and those in the working ages limited to 59 years or younger.