If a country's elderly population rises but healthy life expectancy also increases and people work for longer, what is one limitation of the traditional dependency ratio?

Correct answer: It may oversimplify reality by treating all elderly people as dependents despite their economic participation

The traditional dependency ratio is an age-based indicator. It usually places children and older persons in a dependent category and compares their number with the working-age population. Its limitation is that chronological age does not always equal economic dependence. Many older people remain healthy, employed, self-employed, unpaid family workers or financially independent, especially when healthy life expectancy and retirement ages increase. Therefore, option A is correct: the measure may oversimplify actual participation and support needs. Option B is false because children are normally counted as dependents, not workers. Option C is irrelevant because the ratio can be calculated from population counts, and option D is false because the indicator is not a migration measure. Employment and health data provide a more realistic complement.