POPULATION PYRAMIDS Population structure 'MSP : Scots should be paid to breed' 'Bishops urge Italians to multiply' 'Singapore has good reason to push for more babies' These three newspaper headlines suggest that the countries concerned are short of babies and young people. This can be shown by studying an age pyramid diagram which shows the population structure. Have a look at the diagram below:

POPULATION PYRAMIDS Italy's 'pyramid' is similar to that of developed countries in Western Europe. It shows that: there is a relatively small number of people under the age of 20 (around 11million) there is a high number of people over the age of 60 (more than 13million) Italy recently became the first country in the world where the number of over 60s exceeded the under 20s. This poses a number of questions: Why has this situation developed? What problems does it create? What are the solutions?

POPULATION PYRAMIDS Why has this situation developed? The change results from two processes: older people are living longer fewer babies are being born Older people are living longer because of: developments in medical science improved health care provision

POPULATION PYRAMIDS Fewer babies are being born because: more women go out to work educated women may choose to develop a career rather than raise a large family the age of marriage has increased contraceptives are more easily available there are changing lifestyles, where families prefer to have fewer children in the past children contributed to the family's income - nowadays they're more likely to be economic burdens better health care means that people don't have to have large families to ensure the survival of a few These factors have led to a decrease in the EU fertility rate from 2.75 children to each woman in the appropriate age group in the mid-1960s, to a current rate of 1.43 children per female. To maintain a stable population, a level of 2.1 is required. All across Europe fertility rates, and therefore populations, are decreasing.