Population Pyramid

Dr. Sanaullah Panezai

Department of Geography and Regional Planning
University of Balochistan, Quetta
Population Pyramid:
A graphical representation of the age and sex
distribution of a population. Numbers or
proportions of males and females in each age
group are plotted as horizontal bars with the
males on the left and females on the right.
Pyramids may be constructed to show single
years of age or, as with the IDB pyramids, 5-year
age groups.
A population pyramid, also called age-sex
pyramid and age structure diagram, is a
graphical illustration that shows the distribution of
various age groups in a population (typically that
of a country or region of the world), which
normally forms the shape of a pyramid. It typically
consists of two back-to-back bar graphs, with the
population plotted on the X-axis and age on the
Y-axis, one showing the number of males and
one showing females in a particular population in
five-year age groups (also called cohorts). Males
are conventionally shown on the left and females
on the right, and they may be measured by raw
number or as a percentage of the total
population.
 A great deal of information about the
population broken down by age and sex can be
read from a population pyramid, and this can
shed light on the extent of development and other
aspects of the population. A population pyramid
also tells the council how many people of each
age range live in the area. There tends to be
more females than males in the older age groups,
due to females' longer life expectancy.
Age and Sex Composition of the Palestinian
Population in Gaza Strip and the West Bank
(including East Jerusalem), 2005
Age composition of Population:
The age structure is and important feature of
populations. Every population forms a unique
age structure which is determined by fertility,
mortality and migration.
The reliability of age reporting in senses and
survey remained doubtful. Age distribution of
men as well as women is heavily weighted
towards the younger and economically
unproductive ages.
1). Children Population:
Although the percentage of population below
15 years age has declined from 44.5% in 1981
to 41% 1998 (over a period of 17 years) yet the
population can be described as young. The
percentage distribution declines with the rise in
age.
Distribution of children population from
(1951 – 1998):
 Year Total Percentage Aged 0-
population In of Children 14Year
Thousands
(000)
Male Female Both Sexes

1951a 31,948 20.4 22.7 43.1

1961a 39,442 20.0 22.4 42.4
1972a 62,462 20.7 23.1 43.8

1981 84,254 21.5 23.0 44.5

1998 130,579 20.0 20.9 40.9

a Data of F.A.T.A is not added

2). Working Population (15 -59) years):
The working population of both sexes aged
15 – 59 years declined from 51.2 percent in
1951 to 48.5 percent in the year of 1981. A
negligible decline is noticed over the period of
30 years.
The percentage of women remained the
same whereas the percent of men population
has decreased from 28.2 percent in 1951 to
25.4 percent in1981.
In the 1998 census percentage of women
rise up to 25.4 percent, while percentage of
men became 28.0 % and it was 53.4 percent
for both sexes.
Table: Percentage of working Population

Year Female Male Both Sexes

1951 23.0 28.2 51.2

1961 23.4 27.2 50.6

1972 22.8 26.3 49.1

1981 23.1 25.4 48.5

1998 25.4 28.0 53.4

3). Elderly persons (60 years and above):
The old population is taken as economically
inactive, though a segment of population does
work.
The proportion of elderly persons in 1951
population census was 5.7 percent which
increased to almost 7.0 percent in 1961.
Thereafter, It remained constant upto
proportion of female population is slightly lesser
as compared to men in all the years
Table: Percentage of Elderly Persons

Year Female Male Both Sexes

1951 2.6 3.1 5.7

1961 3.0 4.0 7.0

1972 2.9 4.1 7.0

1981 3.0 4.0 7.0

1998 2.8 3.1 5.9

 Sex Composition of Population.
Sex Ratio:
The ratio of male population over hundred 100
females in a country is known as sex ratio.
According of the census of 1998, Pakistan
sex ratio is as under;
Sex Ratio (Male : Female) = 108.5 : 100
Sex ratio is an important variable which
determines the mortality, fertility and migration.
According to census of 1998, out of total
population of (130.5 million), 67,840,137 are
male and 62,739,736 are female.
The decline of sex ratio could be attributed
to different factors i.e. better coverage of
females and improvement in their life
expectancy.
The sex ratio by urban/rural level indicates that
it is slightly higher in urban areas do attract
more males than females for a variety of
economic reasons and sex selective migration
from rural areas.
 Pakistan province wise Rural Urban
sex ratio (1981and 1998)
Admn unit Sex Sex Sex
ratio ratio Ratio
Total Rural Urban
Years 1981 1998 1981 1998 1981 1998
Pakistan 110.6 108.1 108.7 106.4 115.3 111.9
N.W.F.P 108.7 105.0 107.3 103.0 117.1 113.0
F.A.T.A 105.3 108.0 108.3 108.0 - 119.0
Punjab 110.8 107.0 109.7 106.0 114.0 110.0
Sindh 110.7 112.2 106.6 110.6 116.4 113.9
Balochistan 111.5 114.9 109.8 112.8 121.0 122.0
IslamAbad 118.9 117.0 110.9 108.0 124.5 122.0
Thank You