Name________________________________
Think/ Pair/ Share Power of the Pyramids
As you have been learning, a population pyramid reveals many things about the population of a given
country. Complete the following questions by looking at the population pyramids on page 3 and then
answer the final question (#15) to gain a better understanding of the usefulness of population pyramids.
1. Name 3 countries that have between 3-4% of male and female 0-4 year olds living in them?
2. Which country has the largest percentages of its population under 19 years old?
3. What country has the highest percentage of older women (75+) living in it?
4. Which country – China or Mexico has a larger percentage of it population under 9 years old? Take a
guess on a possible reason for this.
5. Identify the country by these statistics --- Males 0-4 = 5.8% Female 0-4 = 5%.
Now for some deeper analysis of these --- DO YOUR BEST TO ANSWER --- TRY! Make guesses even if
are not sure.
Dependency ratios are used to assess the reliance of one group upon another. They take two main forms –
Youth (ages 0 -14) and Elderly (65+). They attempt to show the number of people too young or old to work
compared to the number of people in their economically productive years. The larger the percentage the
greater the financial strain on those working to support those who are not.
Look and the pyramids and answer the following --6. Which country has the highest youth dependency ratio?
7. Which two countries also show this, but not to the same extent?
8. Explain what types of concerns this may present these countries. What are some potential positives?
9. Which two countries show the most likely Elderly Dependency Ratios?
10. What type of growth in population is the United States and France likely to see based on these pyramids?
A) Rapid
B) Slow
C) Negative
11. What type of growth in population is Nigeria likely to experience? Explain why.
A) Rapid
B) Slow
C) Negative
Because…….
For the remaining questions look at the predicted population pyramid of Japan in the year 2050 below:
13. What type of dependency ratio does this pyramid show?
14. What type of growth does this pyramid represent?
A) Rapid
B) Slow
C) Negative
15. Read the section on Japan on page 47 of Contemporary Human Geography and summarize the
potential problems of having a population structure that looks like the one represented below.
16. Explain how population pyramids can be helpful in understanding the demographic make-up of, the
potential concerns of, and future opportunities for any given country.