Dec 30, 2015
The population pyramid displays the age and sex structure of a country or given
area
Usually, but not always,in % to make for easier
comparisonsbetween countries
FEMALESTo the rightMALES
To the left
Population inFive Year
Age bands
OLD DEPENDANTS
ECONOMICALLYACTIVE
YOUNG DEPENDANTS
Note: x axis here is total persons
not percentage of population
How to read a population pyramid
Shape of the sides shows death rate:concave sides=high death rateconvex sides=low death rate
Angola
Israel
Mexico’s “other” pyramidsleft: 1980 right: 2010
Concave to convex=death rates falling(this is Mexico entering what DTM stage?)
Width of base relates to birth rate (CBR) and fertility rate (TFR)
Benin
Netherlands
Base narrowing=falling birth rates(The first two pyramids shows South Korea moving through what stages of the DTM?)
What stage does the last pyramid show?
Height of pyramid can indicate life expectancy (ignoring very thin tips)
Japan Afghanistan
Irregularities or “kinks” in the sides indicate some demographic anomaly that caused rapid birth or
death rates.
Russia (kinky)
India (not kinky)
U.S.’s kink: the post WWII baby boom
Canada had an even more pronounced baby boom after WWII than the U.S.
Note when the baby boomers reached reproductive age they created a baby “boomlet”.
Finland’s “kinks”
Russia’s kinks
WWI + Russian Civil War
Stalin Famines
WWII
WWII “echo” and
Urbanization
Echo of the echo
Declining TFR
China’s kinks
Mao: “strength in numbers”
“Great Leap Forward”
One Child Policy
Iran’s kink
Contraception is anti-Islamic Contraception is
ok after all
Population Pyramids related to the Demographic Transition Model
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
Both birth rates andDeath rates areHigh, so populationgrowth rates are slow but populationIs usually restoredDue to high birth Rate. Short lifeExpectancy
EXAMPLES: Afghanistan, Ivory Coast
Population startsto grow at anexponential rate due to fall in Crude Death Rate. More living In middle age.Life expectancy risesInfant mortality rate falls.
EXAMPLES: Jordan, Thailand
Population continuesto grow but at slowerrate. Low C Death Rate.Dramatically decliningCrude Birth Rate.
EXAMPLES: Ireland, China, New Zealand
IMPLICATIONS IMPLICATIONS IMPLICATIONS IMPLICATIONS
Low Crude Birth Rate and Crude Death RateHigher dependency ratioand longer life expectancyCrude Death Rate does Rise slightly because ofThe ageing population
EXAMPLES: United States, Japan
There is some merit in including or considering a Stage 5 today with a declining population
Shape: classic pyramidCape Verde: stage 2 in DTM
Because of mid-20th century famines, Cape Verde was one of last countries on earth to enter stage 2.
Shape: half ellipseChile: stage 3 in DTM
Chile moved into stage 2 (lowered death rates) in 1930’s and stage 3 (lowered birth rates due to family planning
policies and bad economy) in the 1960’s
Shape: chimneyDenmark: stage 4 in DTM
Denmark has been in stage 4 showing little population growth since the 1970’s.
The two “billionaires”:China has suffered more cataclysmic demographic events
than India. But looking past the “kinks”, what shape is China’s pyramid trending towards?
Now it’s your turn:
1) Working with a partner, analyze the 12 population pyramids on the back of
your handout.2) In the table provided, match the letter below the pyramid with the
region or place it describes.
Naples, FLA
Sudan
Germany
Unalaska, AK
Botswana
Brazil
Washington, D.C. suburbs
Qatar
Iran
Japan, 2050 projection
Lawrence, KS (Univ. of Kansas)
Population Pyramid for ()
10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10
0-45-9
10-1415-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-6465-6970-7475-7980-8485-8990-9495-99100+
AGE G
ROUP
PERCENT OF TOTAL POPULATION Males Females
Population Pyramid for ()
10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10
0-45-9
10-1415-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-6465-6970-7475-7980-8485-8990-9495-99100+
AGE G
ROUP
PERCENT OF TOTAL POPULATION Males Females
2012-2013 AGHS AP
Human Geography
Class