Population Pyramids

How Many of Each Age?
To make more accurate population projections we need to know not only how many people there are at present, but also their sex and how old they are. A population of 10 million people all over 65 years old will not grow. A population of 5 million men and 5 million women all aged between 20 and 40 Years old will grow.

This information is often drawn as a POPULATION PYRAMID which shows the number of men and the number of women in each age group. Figure 2 shows the population pyramid for the seaside town of Worthing on 25 April, 1971. The figures for the men are on the left. The figures for the women are on the right. The total population was 88500.

Figure 2 Population by age and sex for Worthing on 25 April, 1971.

Population pyramids can he drawn for large populations (e.g. for a country,') and for small populations (e.g. a particular town).

If your job is to build a school, a sports centre or an old people's home in a town, it is not enough to know how many, people live there. You also need to know how many, young people and how many old people there are. A population pyramid gives this information.

Study the population pyramid in Figure 2 carefully, then answer the following questions.

1. Are there more men or more women in Worthing?
2. How many women are there aged 45-59?
3. How many men are there aged 30-44?
4. How many men are there aged 45-59?
5. How many men are there aged 60-74?
6. How many girls are there aged under 15?
7. How many boys are there aged under 15?
8. How many children are there aged under 15?
9. How many people are there aged 15-29?
10. Comment on anything unusual you notice about this distribution.

Let us see if the age distribution of Worthing is typical of the rest of the country.

11. Using the information in Table 3, draw a population pyramid in Figure 8 on page R2.

Look carefully at the population pyramids for England and Wales and for Worthing, and then answer the following questions. The modal age group is the one with the highest population.

12. What is the modal age group for males and females in England and Wales?
13. What is the modal age group in Worthing?
14. How many people in Worthing are of working age (say 15-59 years)? What percentage is this of the total population of Worthing?
15. How might your conclusion affect town planning in Worthing?

(Source: OPCS Monitor, PP2, 76/1)
(Note: These are approximate figures.)
Table 3 - Mid-year population of England and Wales, 1975.

Comparing Towns
You will need a sheet of graph paper.

As you have seen, population pyramids are important for planning towns.

Figure 3 shows people waiting at bus stops in Worthing and Skelmersdale.

Figure 3 - Two bus stops.

1. What main difference between Worthing and Skelmersdale is illustrated in Figure 3?

To compare age distributions between two towns, we sometimes draw population pyramids showing the percentage of the population in each Year group. This makes it easier to compare the shape of the pyramids.

2. Copy out Table 4. Use the information in this table to draw a population pyramid for Worthing and another for Skelmersdale.

Table 4 - Percentage of population in different age groups,
Worthing and Skelmersdale (1975).

3. Which town has the larger percentage of old people (i.e. over 60)?
4. Which town has the larger percentage of people in the age groups between 15 and 45?
5. Which town has the larger percentage of children under 15?
6. Briefly describe the population of both towns.
7. Write down a list of special amenities needed by each town (e.g. schools, old people's homes).
8. Which of these two towns can expect to face an immediate problem of large population growth?

Comparing Countries
The fastest-growing populations tend to be in the poorest countries. This brings enormous problems.

For instance, in a developing countrv a lot of children are born (though manv die before thes, are five), and few people live bevond 50 vears of age. In a more developed countrv fewer babies are born, and people live longer.

1. Bearing these points in mind, try to decide which of the population pyramids in Figure 4 represents the population of a poor (or developing) country.

Figure 4 - Three population pyramids.

The four pyramids in Figure 5 represent the populations in 1970 of North America, USSR, Africa and Western Europe. but not in that order.

Note: They show population proportions, not population size.

Figure 5 - Population of North America, USSR, Africa and Western Europe (1970)

2. Write down which you think is which.

Here are some clues to help you.

Africa should have a high birth rate and low life expectancy.

Both Western Europe and USSR suffered in World War 2 (1939-1945), USSR more than Western Europe.

What About the Workers?
You wish to know how manv people there are in each of the following groups:

Soldiers, nurses, old age pensioners, factory workers, school children

1. Which of these figures could you find from population pyramids?

You can of course only tell the age of people from the population pyramids.

A dependant is someone who is too young or too old to work. Normally those under 15 or over 65 are classed as dependants.

Using the pyramids, we can find the number of dependants in a population.

2. Which of the four pyramids in Figure 5 has the largest proportion of dependants?

The best guide to future population growth is the proportion of females of child-bearing age (15-44 years).

3. Which of the four regions can expect to face an immediate problem of large population growth?
4. For two of the four regions, write down a problem that they will have to face in the future or that they are facing now.

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