Researchers have devised a new metric, the ‘Health-Adjusted Dependency Ratio’ (HADR) as an alternative to the most commonly used aging metric, the old-age dependency ratio (OADR). The research suggests that age-related health burden is distinct from a ratio based exclusively on age and is the first to incorporate dependency associated with ill-health to generate a new metric that represents a more holistic measure of dependency for 188 countries.