Question

What are population pyramids? How do they help in understanding the population of a country?

Answer 1

A good way to look at the composition of the population in a country is by studying the population pyramid, which is also known as the age-sex pyramid.

• The population pyramid throws light on how the population is divided among various age groups i.e 10 to 14 years, 5 to 9 years etc.
• In each of those groups, the percentage of the total population are further divided into females and males.
• The story of the people living in a particular country can be understood through the population pyramid.
• Above 65 years, the number of aged people are known by the size of the pyramid at the top and the level of births are reflected at the bottom of the pyramid, it shows the number of children below the age of 15 years.
• The number of dependents in a country can also be understood by looking at the population pyramid. The economically active groups are the working age population.
• The two dependent groups are those who are aged more than 65 years and the young children who are aged below 15 years.
• The country with a high death rate and high birth rate will be narrow at the top and broad at the base of the pyramid, respectively.
• The base of the pyramid is narrow in countries like Japan as they have low birth rates.
• The structure of the population refers to population composition.
• The population composition helps in understanding the health conditions of people, their income levels, their occupation, their gender, the age group that they belong to, and their levels of education.