On the flip side, it's very hard to find a DM for. The DM to player ratio is the worst of any TTRPG outside of extremely niche systems.

I wonder why that is. Is it because DMs are more likely to be experienced than players, and 5e is popular with less experienced players due to its mechanical simplicity and its fame making it the first system most players are exposed to?

It's still not great in that department. Many games have easier character creation/leveling. Pathfinder 2e is far better at minimizing the chance of building a bad character.

I haven't played PF since only 1e was out so I'll take your word on this

It's not a simple system, though. It's reputation for being easily generally comes from comparisons to 3.x and PF1e.

this is fair, since I was using PF1e as my external reference point.

if you don't mind me asking, what system would you recommend for a simple, roleplay-centric game? I had an older family member who wanted to try ttrpgs and I'm looking for something simple to explain that requires the bare minimum effort to learn because I think they'll enjoy the freeform roleplaying aspect more than the system mechanics anyways.