Question

A country with a high rate of population growth took measures to reduce it. The figures shows age sex pyramids of populations A and B twenty years apart. Select the correct interpretation about them :

• A. "A" is the earlier pyramid and no change has occured in the growth rate
• B. "A" is more recent shows slight reduction in the growth rate
• C. "B" is earlier pyramid and shows stabilized growth rate
• D. "B" is more recent showing that population is very young

Answer 1

The correct option is B "A" is more recent shows slight reduction in the growth rate

Using an age pyramid whether a population is expanding, stable or declining can be determined.
In an age pyramid, the data is divided by gender, with males on one side and females on the other and each stack is the population number or population percentage in an age interval.
Age pyramids with a broader base, that is large number of individuals in the pre-reproductive and reproductive stages indicate an expanding population. When the number of individuals are more or less equal in all age classes, it indicates a stable population, and when the base is narrow with lesser pre-reproductive individuals as seen here, it indicates a declining population.
In the given figure, (A) has a narrow base when compared to (B) and therefore (A) has a slightly slower growth rate.
Also, the question states that the country is taking measure to reduce its population. Hence from that data, the correct option is "A" is more recent shows a slight reduction in the growth rate.