Population Pyramids

Today we learned the last section of our unit, which are population pyramids. Population pyramids look like horizontal bar graphs that compare the ages of males and females. They analyze population growth or decline of fertility, mortality, migration, etc. Each bar goes by 5 years and the ages are grouped into kids, economically active (working parents and adults), and the elderly. There are three types of population pyramids. The first one is shaped like a Christmas tree. This means that this country or nation is a developing nation that has a high birth rate and a short life expectancy. Examples of a Christmas tree population pyramid would be the population of Namibia or Bangladesh. The second shape is a box, which means the nation is developed with slow population growth, low infant mortality rate, and a long life expectancy. An example of a box shaped population pyramid would be the USA or Sweden. From what I've learned about these pyramids, a box shape is probably ideal because everything is equal so there is enough people working to take care of the kids and the elderly. The last shape is a cup. A cup means that the nation is developed, but has a negative growth because they have a low birth rate and there won't be anyone to take care of the higher generation and work for their economy. They have a long life expectancy, like Japan or Italy. These are just the three most common shapes of population pyramids, but not every single one is a certain shape because each population is very different.