File:Global_Population-Pyramid-1950-to-2100.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
population pyramid
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~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
World population pyramid from 1950 to projected in 2100 (UN, World Population Prospects 2017)
A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid when the population is growing. Males are usually shown on the left and females on the right, and they may be measured in absolute numbers or as a percentage of the total population. The pyramid can be used to visualize the age of a particular population. It is also used in ecology to determine the overall age distribution of a population; an indication of the reproductive capabilities and likelihood of the continuation of a species. Number of people per unit area of land is called population density.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “population pyramid” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.