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Population pyramids

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Related lesson plans

A population pyramid, also called "age pyramid", is a horizontal bar graph that illustrates the distribution of different age groups in a population, showing the number of males on the left and of females on the right.

For more details, see What is a population pyramid?

Animated population pyramids (Flash)

Watch how a population's age structure changes over time:

1901 to 2001 – Canada and the provinces and territories
1956 to 2006 – Canada and the provinces and territories
1971 to 2056 – projection for Canada

The shape of the pyramid for a particular province or territory relates to the rate of its population's growth or decline. See Types of animated population pyramids.

Static population pyramids

Interactive tool: Compare 2006 pyramids for different geographic areas (Note)
See different figures, including comparisons of 2001 and 2006 pyramids for provinces, territories and selected metropolitan areas.

Articles

Summary: Canada's population by age and sex (The Daily)
Feature article: Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006 by Age and Sex

Types of animated population pyramids

The age-sex distribution of a population is an important feature to analyse if you wish to understand the demographic situation of a country or region.

Vivian Z. Klaff sets out the following types of age structure models in Dem-Lab: Teaching Demography Through Computers, 1992 Prentice Hall:

Expansive — a broad base, indicating a high proportion of children, a rapid rate of population growth, and a low proportion of older people. Nunavut (Flash) is an example of an expansive type population pyramid.
Stable — a structure with indentations that even out and reflect slow growth over a period. Northwest Territories (Flash) is an example of a stable type population pyramid.
Stationary — a narrow base and roughly equal numbers in each age group, tapering off at the older ages. Manitoba (Flash) is an example of a stationary type population pyramid.
Declining — a high proportion of aged persons and declining numbers. Newfoundland and Labrador (Flash) is an example of a declining type population pyramid.

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Note: For optimal viewing results, we suggest the use of Internet Explorer 5.5, Firefox 1.5 or more recent versions. We are continuing to work to improve the display of these pyramids with other browsers and related versions.