How to Analyze a Population Pyramid
Remember the following useful vocabulary
- Types of Population Pyramids:
o Stable (Stage 1)
o Expansive or Triangular (Stage 2)
o Stationary (Stage 3)
o Contractive or Constrictive (Stage 4)
o Other Pyramids: Spearhead
- Indentation: when a cohort gets narrower.
- Bulge: when a cohort gets wider.
- Cohort: each five year-age group is called a cohort. It's represented by an horizontal bar.
- Base or bottom
- Top
- To narrow or to widen (or to get wider)
How to Analyze
1) We start with THE BASE: from 0 – 14 years old:
a. First of all, we start with the first cohort (0-5). Here we can mention that always, slightly more males are born in any given population.
b. After this we can analyze the shape of the base:
i. It can be expansive /_________\ , that means a high birth rate, and developing countries or rural societies.
1. Reasons or causes: Religious beliefs, non-working women, lack of family planning…
2. Consequences: As a consequence this country has a young population, and has to invest in education, and it may have problems with unemployment in the near future, etc...
ii. It can be constrictive: \________/ , this means we are talking about developed countries and urban societies, with a very low birth rate, and usually a very low child mortality rate.
1. Causes: Family planning, working women, latter marriages…
2. Consequences: Impossibility of replacing the generation itself. Problems in the future with retirement pensions
2) We go on with THE TOP: more than 65
a. Here we can mention that the number of females surviving to older ages is greater than the number of surviving males.
b.The top gives information about Death Rate, and Life expectancy a we have two possibilities.
i. Pointing Top: /\ that means a high Death Rate and a low Life Expectancy.
1. Causes: Bad Health Conditions, etc…
2. Consequences: Few ageing people.
ii. Round Top: That means a low Death Rate and a high Life Expectancy
1. Causes: Very good health conditions…
2. Consequences: Large sums of money must be invested in retirement pensions and in geriatric hospitals.
3) Indentations: (males, females or both)
a. Causes: Wars, natural disasters, emigration…
b. Consequences: Difficulties for starting a family, difficulties for finding working-people, brain drain or losl of highly-trained professionals.
4) Bulges:
a. Causes: Immigration, baby-boom
b. Consequences: Integration problems with immigrants. Large sums of money must be invested in pre-natal care, hospitals and education.
5) What is the shape of your population pyramid?
Mention the general characteristics of that shape and to which countries it is related.
You can add some more causes and consequences.
Down here you can download the file with this information: ↓↓↓
