A major implication of high birth rates is that the active labor force has to support proportionally almost twice as many children as it does in richer countries. By contrast, the proportion of people over the age of 65 is much
greater in the developed nations. Both older people and children are often referred to as an economic dependency burden in the sense that they must be supported financially by the country's labor force (usually defined as citizens between the ages of 15 and 64). In low-income countries, there are 66 children under 15 for each 100 working-age (15-65) adults, while in middle-income countries, there are 41 and in high-income countries just 26. In contrast, low income countries have just 6 people over 65 per 100 working-age adults, compared with 10 in middle-income countries and 23 in high-income countries. Thus, the total dependency ratio is 72 per 100 in low-income countries and 49 per 100 in high-income countries But in rich countries, older citizens are supported by their lifetime savings and by public and private pensions. In contrast, in developing countries, public support for children is very limited So dependency has a further magnified impact in developing countries.
We may conclude, therefore, that not only are developing countries characterized by higher rates of population growth, but they must also contend with greater dependency burdens than rich nations, though with a wide gulf between low- and middle-income developing countries. The circumstances and conditions under which population growth becomes a deterrent to economic development is a critical issue and is examined in Chapter 6