Read population pyramids
Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
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.
Japan and Niger both have heavy dependency ratios. What needs do their dependents mostly have, using Cards C and D, Tala asks?
- Both have the same needs, since two heavy dependency ratios mean the same number of people to support
- 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
Which country has about one person aged 65+ for each child under 15, using Card C, Ari asks?
- India, with 6.9% aged 65+ and 25.1% aged 0–14, since a wide middle makes both ends about equal
- Brazil, with 10.6% aged 65+ and 19.9% aged 0–14, since both shares are close to the middle of the six
- 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
Bo's note: 'Japan has the heaviest dependency ratio because it has the most children.' Which fix fits Cards C and D?
- 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
- Niger's ratio is heaviest, about 98 per 100; Japan's, about 70, is mostly older people, not children
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 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
- India about 2.7 and Japan about 5.1, since the working-age share is divided by the older share alone
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
- 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
- Not so: Japan has the fewest children, 11.6%, but a heavy ratio, about 70, because of its older people
Germany has 13.9% aged 0–14 and 22.8% aged 65+. Which shape fits, using Card D, Kira asks?
- Constrictive: the base, 13.9%, is narrower than the top, 22.8%, so older people outnumber children
- Stationary: the base and top are within ten points, so the pyramid is about the same width from bottom to top
- Constrictive, but narrower at the top than at the base, since constrictive means a narrow top
- Expansive: 22.8% is a large share, and a large share at either end makes a pyramid expansive
How does Germany's age profile compare with the United States', using Card C, Luz asks?
- Germany has a larger working-age share than the United States, since 22.8% older is the larger number of the two
- Germany has a wider base and a narrower top than the United States, since both are rich countries
- 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 and the United States have the same profile, since both have more than 60% aged 15–64
Milo's note: 'Niger has the fewest workers for each dependent, so Niger is the poorest of the six.' Which fix fits the cards?
- Niger has about one working-age person for each dependent, the fewest of the six; the ratio counts ages, not income
- Change 'fewest' to 'most', since Niger's 50.4% working-age is the smallest share and so gives the most workers per dependent
- Keep it, since a ratio that is heavy is the clearest sign that a country has the least income
- Change 'poorest' to 'youngest', since 47.0% of Niger's people are children, and the note is otherwise right
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: it is about 36.7, the sum of 22.8 and 13.9, since that is the number of older people for each child
- Yes: 13.9 divided by 22.8 is about 0.6 older people for each child, as the student said
- No: 22.8 divided by 13.9 is about 1.6; 0.6 is the number of children for each older person
Pia's note: 'Brazil and India have the same pyramid, since their working-age shares are almost equal, 69.5% and 68.0%.' Which fix fits Card C?
- They differ at both ends: India has 25.1% aged 0–14 and 6.9% aged 65+, Brazil 19.9% and 10.6%
- They differ in the middle, since 69.5% and 68.0% are not equal numbers and so give different pyramids
- They are the same, since each is the shape of a country with a large middle and small ends
- Brazil has more young people and fewer older people than India, since it has the larger working-age share