Question:

The graph above shows the total resident population in terms of age and sex for the USA in the year
2015.

A. Explain how geographers use population pyramids.

B. Identify the four different possible types of growth shown thorough population pyramids.

C. Explain how a country’s population pyramid relates to its overall development.

D. Using the graph, predict what stage in the demographic transition model the USA was in 2015.

E. Explain Thomas Malthus’s theory on the consequences of population change.

F. Identify the two types of migration.

G. Describe the probability of the USA experiencing migration in 2015.

Answers:
A. Geographers use population pyramids to obtain a visual representation of a population in terms of
age and sex as well as to gain an indication of the dependency ratio, or the ration of the working
population to the unworking population, in order to assess population growth and decline.

B. The four different types of growth that can be shown thorough population pyramids include rapid
growth, which has a larger younger population and stable/slow growth, which has relatively equal
population for all age groups and both sexes, and declining/negative growth, which has a significantly
larger older population. The last type, disrupted growth, is generally characterized by multiple gaps
within the pyramid that are usually caused by human factors such as war, strict population policies, or
physical factors like natural disasters.

C. A stable/slow growth and declining/negative growth population pyramid indicates that a country is
stable and has access to a plentiful number and variety of resources, making it an ideal place to live. In
contrast, a rapid growth or disrupted growth indicates that a place is either currently attempting to
industrialize and secure resources, or is overrun with disaster affecting the population and leading to a
less stable country which is unideal for living.

D. In 2015, the USA was in stage 4 of the demographic transition model, a model that describes the
relationship between population and development of a country, because the population pyramid shows
that the USA has a very stable/slow growth which is only typical in developed countries that have
finished industrialization.

E. Thomas Malthus’s theory on population stated that the size and growth of a population depends on
its current food supply and agricultural practices, thus when food production of a region is no longer
able to support the local population, people will die from starvation further changing the population
demographic.

F. Migration is the act of moving to a new place with a degree of permanence. The two types of
migration include internal migration, or the moving of a population within national boundaries, and
transnational migration, which can also be defined as the moving of a population across national
boundaries.

G. The probability of the USA experiencing migration in 2015 is relatively high due to the high number of
opportunities and resources available within the country. However, as shown by the population pyramid,
the country probably experienced a constant level of immigration, moving to a place, and emigration,
leaving a place, leading to the population pyramid depicting the USA as having a stable/slow growth.