Population Composition : Geography

The composition of the population is the structure of the population with various aspects such as sex, age, literacy level, health condition, occupation and income level. It also helps to find the population size with the aid of a table showing the relationship between these aspects.

In demography, the population composition of a country is described as population pyramid. In comparison to the more familiar population pyramid of a society, which is based on age and sex structure, the population of a country would include more detailed break-up of its people by age, sex and their economic status.

The total population is divided into various groups: 5-9 years, 10-14 years. The percentage of the total population is subdivided into males and females, in each of those groups.

The shape of population pyramid, shows the people living in that particular country. The number of children (below 15 years) are shown at the bottom and reflect the level of births. The size of the top shows the number of aged people (above 65 years) and reflects the number of deaths.

The population pyramid shows young dependents (aged below 15 years) and elderly dependents (aged over 65 years). The working people are in the middle group constitute the economically active segment.

In Japan, low birth rates make the pyramid narrow at the base. Decreased death rates allow numbers of people to reach old age.