3.4 Population Structure

• Sources of population data in a country
• The meaning of population structure, and the dependency ratio
• Factors determining the population structure of Kenya
• Factors determining the population structure of Germany
• How to construct an age-sex population pyramid
• The age-sex pyramid of Kenya, a developing country
• The age-sex pyramid of Germany, a developed country
• Significance of population structure in the distribution of national resources
• Comparing population structures for sustainable development

• identify sources of population data in a country
• explain factors determining population structure in Kenya and Germany
• construct age-sex population pyramids of developed and developing countries
• determine the significance of population structure in the distribution of national resources
• appreciate the differences in population structure

“Why is the population structure of a country important?”

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1. Sources of population data
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Census, surveys, registers of births and deaths, migration, school and hospital records.
2. Population structure and dependency
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How a population is made up by age and sex, and how many each worker supports.
3. What shapes Kenya's population
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   High births, falling deaths and young migrants make a young population.
4. What shapes Germany's population
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Low births, long lives and immigration make an old population.
5. Constructing an age-sex pyramid
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Age up the middle, males left, females right, the same scale both sides, a title and a key.
6. Kenya's population pyramid
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A broad base and a narrow top: the expanding pyramid of a developing country.
7. Germany's population pyramid
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A narrow base, a middle bulge and a wide top: the contracting pyramid of an ageing country.
8. Population structure and national resources
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Structure tells a government where to spend: schools and jobs, or pensions and care.
9. Comparing population structures
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   Same scale, opposite shapes, and the demographic dividend Kenya can earn.