Population Pyramids

Dr. Um-e-Habiba
Assistant Professor UIPH
 Objectives
• WHAT is a population pyramid?
• HOW to read a population pyramid?
• Recognise SHAPES of population
pyramids.
• IMPORTANCE of population
pyramids.
Population Pyramid
What is a population pyramid?

• Population pyramids are a special kind

of graph that show how a country’s
population is structured.

• They show the population composition or

structure of a country

• Population pyramids are also known as

age-sex pyramids
What is a population pyramid?

• The total population divided into five-

year age groups
• The percentage of people in each of
those age groups
• The percentage of males and females
in each age group
 Population Pyramids

• A population pyramid is two back-to-

back bar graphs, one showing the
number of males and one showing
females in a particular population in
five-year age groups (also called
cohorts).
 They show two main things:
1.The number or percentage of males and females in
the population;
2.The number or percentage of people in different
age categories.

Males Females
55-59 year old
female age group
20-25 year old
male age group
The shape of a population pyramid can tell us a lot
including:
• Whether the population is growing, stable

or shrinking.
• Information about the history of a country via

what happened to its people;

• They can also tell us about the future of a
population
 Age composition
Shown on the vertical axis

• The population is normally divided into five year

groups e.g. 0-4, 5-9, 10-14 on the vertical axis.
• Different age groups are known as cohorts
 Sex / Gender Composition
Shown on the horizontal axis

• Figures for males • Figures for females are

are recorded on the recorded on the right
left of the diagram. of the diagram.
 The horizontal axis may either represent:
• actual numbers • the percentage of the
total population in each
age category.
Population pyramids can show:
Change over time
 Population Pyramids
• A great deal of information about the population
broken down by age and sex can be read from a
population pyramid, and this can shed light on
the extent of its development.
– Birth rate trends
– Death rate trends
– Number of economic dependents (<15, >65)
• Demographers
categorize any
population they
examine into its male
and female
components by age
divisions called cohorts.
• The most common
cohorts are five year
intervals.
• This data is displayed
in so-called age-sex
structure.
• Because the age-sex
structures of many
countries take a
triangular or pyramidal
shape, this type of graph
is called POPULATION
PYRAMID.
Shape of pyramids is controlled
by

– births
– deaths
– migration
Population Pyramids
What is a population pyramid?
Vertical Axis - Age Groups
Elderly dependents

Working population

Young dependents

Horizontal Axis – Percentage / number of people

 Types of Population
Pyramid
Three main types of pyramids

Rapid growth-Expansive

Slow growth-Stationary

Negative growth

Shape of rapid Shape of Shape of negative

growth - Expansive Slow growth- growth
Stationary
Triangle Rectangle
Beehive
Population Pyramids
Triangle or Rectangle or Beehive or
Triangular-shaped Pyramid
(Broad-based Pyramid)
 Broad-based Pyramid
Title: India, 2000
Shape: Broad Base - high birth rates
Narrow Top - small elderly pop
- high death rate
Proportion: - Large proportion of young
- high young dependency
ratio
Sex Ratio: Balance pyramid - Balance sex
ratio
Rectangular-shaped
Pyramid
 Rectangular Pyramid
Title: Netherlands, 2000
Shape: Rectangular-shaped - Zero Pop Growth
Narrow Base - Low Birth Rates
- Life-expectancy is high e.g. 80+
- Low death rates
Proportion: Bars of equal length - Balance
Proportion
Sex Ratio: Balance pyramid - Balance Sex
Ratio
Beehive-shaped
Pyramid
 Beehive-shaped Pyramid
Title: Singapore, 2000
Shape: Rocket-shaped / Narrow Base
– Low Birth Rates, decreasing pop
Proportion: Large proportion of working
population, 15-64 yr old - large
group of economically active pop
Sex Ratio: Balanced pyramid
 Expansive or Expanding
Pyramids
Expansive or expanding population
pyramids have this classic
triangular/pyramid shape. The
wide base of this population
pyramid indicates a high birth
rate & the narrow top indicates
a high death rate.
Generally speaking an expanding
population is characteristic of a lower
standard of living:
 high birth rate due to poor access to
birth control, lack of education etc.;
 high death rate due to poor medical
care & nutrition
 Stationary or Stable
Population
Stationary or Stable population
pyramids have a 1/2 ellipse shape.
The base of this population
pyramid is similar in width to the
population of the reproductive
ages which indicates a stable
population.
Generally speaking stable populations are
characteristic of a high standard of
living due to:
 low birth rate due to good family
planning, access to birth control,
financial planning, education, etc.;
 low death rate due to good medical
care, nutrition, education etc.
 Contractive or Contracting
Population
Contractive or contracting
population pyramids have
a narrower base than the
reproductive age
population. This indicates
a decreasing population
trend. The low birth rate
is indicative of a well
developed country.
 Can you Interpret population
Pyramids

Six things to comment on

1. Birth Rate
2. Death Rate
3. Infant mortality
4. Life expectancy
5. % of dependants to
economically active
6. Migration
 Reading Population
Pyramids
Observing different characteristics of the population
pyramid can tell you a lot about the population.
• Width of the base:
– birth rate varies with the width of the base. A
wide base indicates a high birth rate and a
narrow base indicates a low birth rate.
 Reading Population
Pyramids
• Symmetry:
– statistically speaking pyramids should be
relatively symmetrical. Any asymmetry
indicates a difference in the male and female
population. The following pyramid shows more
females at the 85+ age range which indicates
that women are living to older ages than
males.
 Reading Population
Pyramids
• Shape of sides:
– Concave sides indicate a high death rate and convex
sides indicate a low death rate.
– If the population pyramid exhibits concave sides it
indicates a high death rate.
 Descriptions
• Bumps in the sides:
– Irregularities in the sides indicate a demographic
anomaly.
– The 20 -40 age group in the population pyramid
represents the baby boom.
– This bump will travel upward as the baby boomers age.

• Classification:
– Indicates standard of living as described above.
 Baby Boomers
• People who were born after WWII
(between 1945 – 1965) when men
came home to their wives and started
families
• They are now into their late 70s and
late 50s
• This was the largest population of
babies to exist all at one time and still
is to this day
 4
3

2 5

1
 Analysis of Italy’s
Population Pyramid

• 1. Decline in Birth Rate

• 2. Baby Boom
• 3. Fewer men due to World War I and II
• 4. More women due to: a. longer life
expectancy and b. World Wars (I and II)
• 5. More 75-79 yrs than 0-4 yrs. Signs of a
future worker shortage and an overall
declining population.
Aging population…

…declining birth rate

 Population Pyramids – CAN 1961

Aging Population

Depression

Baby Boom
 Population Pyramid of Canada in 2000

Baby Boom
Population Pyramids – CAN 2006
Population Pyramid of Canada in 2025
Population Pyramid of Canada in 2050
Population Pyramids – US 1990
Population Pyramids – US 2000
Population Pyramids – US 2025
Population Pyramids – US 2050
Population Pyramids – US 2100
Pakistan 2019
Importance of Population
Pyramids
• Policy Planning
~ future housing estates
~ future schools
~ future jobs
• Comparison with other countries
~ developed (US) vs developing
(India)
 What do Population Pyramids show
us?
They allow us to analyze:

1. Population Percentages and life expectancies of males and females

2. The percentage of the population under the age of 15 and over the
age of 65, know as the dependency load
 What do Population Pyramids show
us?
They allow us to analyze:

3. The number of childbearing women in the population (15 to 49)

Population growth history

4. Impact of population policies such as on the fertility rate,

immigration rate, etc.
 Population pyramids are useful
because they show:
• Trends in the birth rate, death rate, infant
mortality rate and life expectancy - these trends
can help a country to plan its future services, e.g.
more homes for the elderly if there is an ageing
population or fewer schools if there is a declining
birth rate.
 Population pyramids are useful
because they show:
• The effects of people migrating into or out of a
region or country.
• The proportion of the population who are
economically active and the proportion who are
dependent upon them (dependency ratio).
 Dependency Ratio
 The working age of people varies.
 Traditionally people worked until they were 65 years old.
 The common trend now is for people to retire closer to 55
years of age.
 However, for statistic purposes we recognize people
between 15 and 65 as the workers of a society.
 People under 15 and over 65 are considered dependant
upon the working population.
 Dependency Ratio

 The dependency ratio (DR) of a population indicates

how many people are dependant upon every 100
workers.
The formula is
DR = (pop. 0-14) + (pop. 65+) *100
(pop. 15-64)
 Dependency Ratio of some Countries,
1990-1999 (per 100)
China 1999
1990
India

Kenya

Sweden

Germany

Mexico

USA

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
 Youth Dependency Ratio
• The population ages 0 – 14 divided by the
population ages 14 – 64.

• YDR = (pop. 0-14) *100

(pop. 15-64)
 Old-Age Dependency Ratio
• The population ages 65+ divided by the
population ages 14 – 64.

• ODR = (pop. 65+) *100

(pop. 15-64)
Population Pyramid Shapes

Stage 1 Stage 2

Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5

There are five different general population pyramids shapes. Each one
corresponds to a different relationship between birth and death rates. It is
expected that most populations will move in a sequence from ‘Stage 1’ to
‘Stage 4’, perhaps even reaching ‘Stage 5’.
Age
Male Female Male Female
65

15

Stage 1 Stage 2
• High death and birth rate. • High birth rate.
•Each age group rapidly shrinks in size due to high death • Rapid fall in death rate.
rate. • Increasing life expectancy.
• Short life expectancy. • Population is rapidly growing.
• Population is not growing.

Age

65

15

Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5:

• Declining birth rate • Low birth and death rate • Low birth rate falls below low death
• Low death rate • Longer life expectancy rate.
• More people living to old age •An older population that grows slowly if at • Older population that begins to
• Rapidly growing population all. shrink in size.
THANK YOU