Read population pyramids

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Card C, age groups in six countries, 2023 (UN estimates, World Bank), as shares of the population

   Niger 47.0% aged 0–14, 50.4% aged 15–64, 2.6% aged 65+; India 25.1%, 68.0%, 6.9%; Brazil 19.9%, 69.5%, 10.6%; United States 17.6%, 65.0%, 17.4%; Germany 13.9%, 63.3%, 22.8%; Japan 11.6%, 58.8%, 29.6%. Card D, notes: the dependency ratio is the number of people aged 0–14 and 65+ for each 100 people aged 15–64. Children need schools and child health care; older people need pensions and long-term care. A pyramid with a wide base is expansive, with a narrow base constrictive, and with about the same width from bottom to top stationary.

2. 1.

   Which country has the heaviest dependency ratio on Cards C and D, Ren asks?

   • Niger: 47.0 + 2.6 is 49.6 dependents for 50.4 working-age people, about 98 per 100
   • Germany, because its 13.9% plus 22.8% is the largest sum of young and older people of the six
   • Japan, because it has the most older people, 29.6%, and older people are the heaviest dependents
   • The United States, because it has the most even mix of young and older, 17.6% and 17.4%
3. 2.

   Japan and Niger both have heavy dependency ratios. What needs do their dependents mostly have, using Cards C and D, Tala asks?

   • Japan's dependents are mostly older people, so pensions and care; Niger's are mostly children, so schools and child health
   • Niger's dependents are mostly older people, and Japan's are mostly children, so each needs the other's services on the cards
   • Japan needs more schools, since its ratio, 70 per 100, is a count of children who need school
   • Both have the same needs, since two heavy dependency ratios mean the same number of people to support
4. 3.

   India has 25.1% aged 0–14 and 6.9% aged 65+. Which pyramid type fits best, Zee asks?

   • Moderately expansive: the base, 25.1%, is much wider than the top, 6.9%, but far less wide than Niger's 47.0%
   • Stationary, since 68.0% of people are aged 15–64 and a big middle makes a pyramid the same width throughout the age bars
   • The same as Niger's, since both have more young people than older people and so share a type
   • Constrictive, since the older share, 6.9%, is small and a small top gives a narrow shape
5. 4.

   Which country has about one person aged 65+ for each child under 15, using Card C, Ari asks?

   • Brazil, with 10.6% aged 65+ and 19.9% aged 0–14, since both shares are close to the middle of the six
   • India, with 6.9% aged 65+ and 25.1% aged 0–14, since a wide middle makes both ends about equal
   • The United States, with 17.4% aged 65+ and 17.6% aged 0–14, about one older person for each child
   • Germany, with 22.8% aged 65+ and 13.9% aged 0–14, since both shares are in the teens or twenties
6. 5.

   Bo's note: 'Japan has the heaviest dependency ratio because it has the most children.' Which fix fits Cards C and D?

   • Niger's ratio is heaviest, about 98 per 100; Japan's, about 70, is mostly older people, not children
   • Keep it, since Japan's 11.6% aged 0–14 is a share that makes its base the widest of the six
   • Change 'children' to 'older people', since Japan's 29.6% aged 65+ is what gives it the heaviest ratio
   • Change 'Japan' to 'Germany', since Germany has 13.9% aged 0–14 and 22.8% aged 65+ together
7. 6.

   About how many working-age people are there for each dependent in India and in Japan, using Cards C and D, Esme asks?

   • India about 2.1 and Japan about 1.4, since the working-age share is divided by the dependent share
   • India about 2.7 and Japan about 5.1, since the working-age share is divided by the older share alone
   • India about 0.47 and Japan about 0.70, since the dependency ratio per 100 is the same as workers for each dependent
   • India about 68 and Japan about 59, since the working-age share is the number of workers for each dependent
8. 7.

   A student says the country with the fewest children must have the lightest dependency ratio. Check it with Cards C and D, Jun asks.

   • It is right once the older share is left out, so the ratio should be built from children alone
   • Not so: Japan has the fewest children, 11.6%, but a heavy ratio, about 70, because of its older people
   • It is wrong because India has the lightest ratio, with 25.1% children, which is a low share for the six countries on the card
   • It is right: Japan has the fewest children, 11.6%, and so the lightest ratio of the six
9. 8.

   Germany has 13.9% aged 0–14 and 22.8% aged 65+. Which shape fits, using Card D, Kira asks?

   • Constrictive, but narrower at the top than at the base, since constrictive means a narrow top
   • Constrictive: the base, 13.9%, is narrower than the top, 22.8%, so older people outnumber children
   • Expansive: 22.8% is a large share, and a large share at either end makes a pyramid expansive
   • Stationary: the base and top are within ten points, so the pyramid is about the same width from bottom to top
10. 9.

    How does Germany's age profile compare with the United States', using Card C, Luz asks?

    • Germany has a narrower base and a wider top: 13.9% aged 0–14 and 22.8% aged 65+, against 17.6% and 17.4%
    • Germany has a wider base and a narrower top than the United States, since both are rich countries
    • Germany has a larger working-age share than the United States, since 22.8% older is the larger number of the two
    • Germany and the United States have the same profile, since both have more than 60% aged 15–64
11. 10.

    Noah says Germany has about 0.6 older people for each child. Check it with Card C.

    • Yes: 22.8 minus 13.9 is 8.9, which is about 0.6 when it is read as a share of 13.9
    • No: 22.8 divided by 13.9 is about 1.6; 0.6 is the number of children for each older person
    • Yes: 13.9 divided by 22.8 is about 0.6 older people for each child, as the student said
    • No: it is about 36.7, the sum of 22.8 and 13.9, since that is the number of older people for each child