Name ______________________________________________ Date ____________ Hour __________
Age Structure Diagrams
BACKGROUND
Demographers study the changes in a population in terms of size and makeup by creating age structure
diagrams. Factors involved in this include fertility rates, age of the population and infant childhood
mortality. Demographers use this information to make predictions about future population sizes and
needs.
PART A
Age pyramids are one way to represent the number of people in each age group within a population.
The age pyramids below repres4ent the populations of three nations: one growing rapidly (Nigeria), one
growing slowly (US) and one that is not growing at all (Germany).
ANALYSIS
1. Which population includes the greatest percentage of people over the age of 65?
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2. Looking at the same graph you used to answer #1, what percentage of the nation’s population
falls into that category? (add all the bars for males and females from age 65 and over)
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3. Which nation has the greatest percentage of people in child-bearing years (ages 15-44)?
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4. How does the number people in this category compare to the number of people over the age of
65 in the nation you chose for #3?
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PART B
5. Before you actually make the graph, predict which of the three types of graphs you would
expect to find on the world graph. (growing quickly, growing slowly, not growing at all)
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World Population Pyramid
Age Group
0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75+
% Male
6.0
5.3
5.1
5.1
4.6
4.1
3.6
3.4
2.8
2.2
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.5
0.8
0.9
% Female
6.0
5.2
4.9
4.7
4.4
4.1
3.5
3.2
2.7
2.1
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.0
1.2
ANALYSIS:
6. Based on the shape of the world population pyramid, do you thing the world population is
growing slowly, rapidly or not at all? Was your hypothesis correct?
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7. Although there are more males than females in the younger age gropus, there are more older
women than older men. At what age does the number of women worldwide exceed the
number of men? Suggest reasons why this might be true.
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8. What is the total percentage of people between the ages of 20-29? _______________________
a. Because there are so many people in this large category, would you expect there to be a
greater percentage in the 30-40 year old group ten years from now? Explain why or
why not.
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9. In what age ranges do you see the largest difference in percentages? ______________________
a. This is where most countries would reach life expectancy. Does this age surprise you?
Why do you think it is so young?
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