A way to examine the structure of a population Population Pyramids A way to examine the structure of a population

Have students interpret the chart Have students interpret the chart. Which age group has the greatest proportion of people? (35-39) Which bar includes the students in this classroom? (10-14 or 15-19) Are there more people in your age group or in the age group below yours? Explain that a pyramid shows the history of a country's population growth. In the United States from 1945 to 1965, people had larger families. These people are now between the ages of 30 and 50 and are called baby boomers. Point to this group on the pyramid. Now show them pyramids for Congo and Germany. Have them describe Congo's population structure. How is Congo's pyramid different from that of the U.S.? (There are more people in the younger age groups.) Which age group in Congo is the largest? (0-4) What proportion of the population is in this age group? (Almost 20 percent; about 9 percent are males and 9 percent females.) Now look at Germany. How is it different? (The age groups are closer to being equal.) How is it different from Congo? (There is a greater proportion of older people.)

Influences on Pyramids Individual and/or Unique Factors Demographic Transition MDC’s vs. LDC’s

Individual and/or Unique Factors Education, particularly for women Health care / health infrastructure War / civil unrest Religion Nationalism Individual’s economic status A country’s economic make-up

More Developed Countries (MDC’s) vs. Less Developed Countries (LDC’s) More urban Higher GDP More democratic Less theocratic More gender equity Slower pop. growth Older populations Less urban Lower GDP Less democratic More theocratic Less gender equity Faster pop. growth Younger populations

Hans Rosling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

Day in the Life of a Porter Life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Compare & Contrast her life to yours

Dynamic Population Pyramids Why would a country 's leaders want to know the proportion of the population in different age groups? What difference does the age of the people in a country make? (People of different ages have different needs.) What kinds of products do young people use? What kinds of services do they need? (diapers, day care, toys, health care, schools, etc.) What about older people? (different kinds of health care, different foods, different products) Is it important for a government leader or planner to know the age of the population they are serving? from the US Census Bureau

Questions Why would a country 's leaders want to know the proportion of the population in different age groups? What difference does the age of the people in a country make? (People of different ages have different needs.) What kinds of products do young people use? What kinds of services do they need? (diapers, day care, toys, health care, schools, etc.) What about older people? (different kinds of health care, different foods, different products) Is it important for a government leader or planner to know the age of the population they are serving?

Constructing your population pyramids Example: Haiti 60+ 40-59 20-39 0-19 30 25 20 15 10 5 5 10 15 20 25 30 Male Female

A special case Source: AgeWorks.com

Contrasting states Source: AgeWorks.com

Source: AgeWorks.com

Million vs billion? A million seconds is 12 days. A billion seconds is 31 years. A trillion seconds is 31,688 years. A million minutes ago was – 1 year, 329 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes ago. A billion minutes ago was just after the time of Christ. A million hours ago was in 1885. A billion hours ago man had not yet walked on earth.

Population Pyramid Exercise