This indicator refers to the projected Old Age Dependency Ratio. The ratio is calculated by expressing the population aged 65 years and over as a percentage of the population aged 15 - 64 years. The Census 2016 ‘usually resident’ population (4,739,597 persons) provides the base for the population projections.

In order to assist the user in assessing the impact of different levels of population change, six population projection variants were produced. These national population projections provide statistics on potential future population levels and is not an attempt to predict the future but rather presents how the population could evolve under different scenarios. For the purpose of this information hub the M1F2 scenario has been selected, M1: Net migration +30,000 per annum to 2051, F2: Total fertility rate to decrease from 1.8 to 1.6 by 2031 and to remain constant thereafter to 2051.