Dependency ratio of population is a ratio of people who are generally not in the labor force (the dependents) to workforce of a country (the productive part of population). The dependent part includes the population under 15 years old and people aged 65 and over. The productive part of population accordingly consists of population between 15 and 64 years.
This ratio shows the pressure on productive population produced by the dependent part of population.
The total dependency ratio of population in Malaysia is 52.9 %.
What does this value mean? It shows that the dependent part of population is more than a half of the working part. It means that the working population (labor force) in Malaysia must provide goods for itself and cover expenditure on children and aged persons (this population is more than a half of working population). The value of more than 50% shows that the pressure on productive population in Malaysia is relatively high.