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