Lecture 8

Ms. Rooma Asjed

 Age Composition
• The age structure or composition of a population
is the distribution by age of the population.
• Age is a central concept in demography for two
reasons:
(1) demographic behavior varies systematically with
age, and
(2) populations are one age are systematically
connected with the population at subsequent
ages.
 Age Pyramid
• The age pyramid is the standard graphic method depicting
the age structure of a population. The horizontal axis is the
proportion or count of the population while the vertical
axis lists five–year age intervals, from age 0 to 85 or 100.
• Recall that it is common to plot males on the left and
females on the right (women are always right).
• The pyramids are useful because they give a quick snapshot
of the age and sex structure of the population. They are
called pyramids because the classic society with high
fertility and high mortality appears as pyramid with a large
base and sharply sloped sides
 Stable population Theory
• To understand the effects of changes in mortality and
fertility, demographers use stable population theory.
• A stable population is a formal demographic model in
which the age–specific birth rates and the age–specific
death rates have not changed for a long time. A
population is stable if its age and sex distribution does
not vary with time “in equilibrium”.
• The life table a population with zero growth, but a
stable population may be increasing in size, the key is
that its age structure is time invariant.
 Dependency Ratio
• Another index commonly used to measure the
social and economic impact of different age
structures is the dependency ratio.
young dependency ratio= population aged 0-14/
Population aged 15-64
Old dependency ratio= population aged 65+/
Population aged 15-64
Overall dependency ratio = Young Dependency
Ratio + Old Dependency Ratio
 Age Structure
• The age structure of a population, that is; the
distribution of the population in different age
groups, constitutes an important subject of
demographic analysis and development
planning.
• Age structural dynamics includes fertility,
mortality and as well as related changes in
family planning and social arrangements.
 SEX COMPOSITION
• Sex composition of the human population is one of the
basic demographic characteristics, which is extremely vital
for any meaningful demographic analysis.
• Changes in sex composition largely reflect the underlying
socio-economic and cultural patterns of a society in
different ways.
• Sex ratio defined here as the number of females per 100
males in the population, is an important social indicator to
measure the extent of prevailing equity between males and
females in a society and influences directly the incidence of
marriage, birth, migration, economic activities, etc.
Development programmes may also have differential
impact on male and females quality of life.
 SEX RATIO

• In normal circumstances, the overall sex ratio of a

population is expected to be 100.
• A sex ratio above 100 indicates an excess of males
and one below 100 indicates an excess of
females.
• At birth there are more males than females,
resulting in a sex ratio at birth over 100. At higher
ages, males tend to die more frequently than
females; this will produce a sex ratio below 100.
As a result the overall sex ratio is expected to be
100.
 Age and Sex Composition:
Why We Should Know It?
• Has considerable impact on health, social,
economic, and political processes, both
present and future.
• For example, different age-sex compositions
result in different proportions of the
population in the labor force or in school, as
well as having different medical needs, social
investment patterns, etc.
• Sex ratio is affected by:
–Sex ratio at birth (always more than 100 with a
range from 102-105)
–Differential patterns of mortality for males and
females
–Differential patterns of migration for males and
females in population