Definition of Population Pyramid

Graph that shows the amount of population and other characteristics associated with it in a country

The Pyramid of population, also known as a population pyramid, is a type of histogram that is made from bars whose height will be proportional to the amount that there represents the population of a given place in the world, both by sex and age.

The histogram is a mode of representation graph of a variable in Format of bars, where the surface of each bar will be proportional to the frequency of those values ​​that are represented in it, differentially or by accumulation. They are ideal to obtain a general idea or panorama of a specific characteristic of the population.

Aging, birth rate and differences between genders, between the information that allows us to know

Thus, the population pyramid is the most widely used way of graphing basic data of a given population, such as sex and age. Not only does it allow us direct and precise knowledge of demographic phenomena such as population aging, the existence or not of

Balance between genders regarding various issues and the effects of catastrophic events that may occur the population under study, but also makes things easier for us when it comes to comparisons with populations foreign.

The population segments are established in generations of five years normally and that are represented in the graph in the form of horizontal bars that start from a common axis. Men on the left and women on the right. Meanwhile, the youngest population groups will be placed at the base of it.

At an older age of a certain generation, the number of deceased persons that compose it will be greater. The largest people are located at the top of the pyramid and the greater number of deaths due to age is that it is narrower in this part. Meanwhile, if the base of the pyramid is wide, it will be because there are many boys and girls between 0 and 4 years of age in that population plotted.

We must also emphasize that appearance of the population pyramid will vary depending on issues such as poverty of the country, if it is a nation more developed, if it is developing or underdevelopment predominates, and the effects of migration of the population.

How to read the population pyramid?

Then, graphically, the population pyramid would be read as follows: the bars of the double histogram arranged horizontally on the The abscissa line will indicate the age groups of the population belonging to the two genders, the male on the left and the female on the right.

Meanwhile, on the axis of the coordinates the different age groups will be identified, generally grouped five by five, 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, etc., being the Younger age groups will be placed lower and will increase in increasing order up the histogram, with the group 75-79 being at the top of the pyramid. 80 +.

The characteristics of biological type that the human species presents make that slight differences are perceived, but differences in the end, in the population, in terms of type of sex and ages. For example, that more people are born male than female; that mortality in men is higher than in women and that women have a much higher life expectancy than men generally have, among other issues.

So, the data used when generating a population pyramid can be both absolute and relative. Regarding the relative ones, they turn out to be the most advisable when you want to compare the population of different countries. Absolute data can be transformed into relative data through the simple rule of three.

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