Demography and Population Pyramids

HSB4M Chapter 5

Social Trends

• In social science these are not fads, fashions or the latest things.

• These are “large scale changes in a society.”

Demography

• “the study of changes affecting human population”

• “is concerned with the overall population, the immediate phenomena that alter it as a whole (births, deaths, migrations), or changes in its composition (sex, age, marital status, language, religion, education, income, etc.)”

The Canadian Encyclopedia. (N.d.). Demography. Retrieved from www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com

Demography – Synonyms

• Population analysis

• Population dynamics

• Vital statistics

Interests of Demographers

• Fertility• Mortality• Migration (immigration, emigration, rural-urban)• Aging• Diversity• Labour market• Participation rate• Marriage• Divorce

Uses of Demography

By For (e.g.)

Gov’t Planning for future services such as hospitals

Businesses Knowing customers’ buying habits; planning where to locate a new store

Organizations (such as charities)

Knowing how many immigrants will come to a city in the future

School boards Where will schools have to be built and/or closed

Population Change

• Natural balance of births, deaths, movement of people (immigration & emigration)– What would be the best kind of balance for a country

such as Canada? What kind of situation are we in now?

• Define from page 146:– Natural increase– Natural decrease– Net migration

• Therefore, population change = natural inc/dec + net migration

Social Impact of Baby Boom

• What happens when a country’s population rises a lot during a short period?

Year Canada’s Population

1946 12 million

1966 20 million*

*By 1966 half of the population was under 24 years old. Now that group makes up 25%.

• What happens when there are so many young people?

Population Pyramid

• A quick way to determine population characteristics and some change over time

• A type of graph that demonstrates population patterns by age and sex– Cohorts = age groups or categories– Male and female % of total population shown– Describe the shape of the base, middle and tip for

1961 and 2006?

• What does a PP not show (or tell you)?

PP 1996

Natural Resources Canada. (2004). The atlas of Canada; population pyramid 1996. Retrieved April 25, 2012 from http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/peopleandsociety/age/age1996/can_graph.gif/image_view

PPs for 1966 and 2006

Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (2007). The future is aging. Retrieved April 25, 2012 from http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/34013.html

PP 2006

Statistics Canada. (2009). 2006 Census: analysis series – findings. Figure 7: different cohorts among the age pyramid of the Canadian population in 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2012 from http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-551/figures/c7-eng.cfm