What is age structure?

Question

I've looked up the meaning online and copied down the one that my textbook has given me: the relative number of individuals of each age.

Could someone give me an example as well?

Answer 1

One of the tools that demographers use to understand population is the age structure diagram (it is

sometimes called a population pyramid, but it is not always pyramidal in shape). This diagram shows the

distribution by ages of females and

males within a certain population in

graphic form. Figure 1 shows a

diagram in which the ages and sexes for

the United States population are

arranged so that ages are grouped

together such as 0 – 4 years, 5 – 9

years, and so on. The population of

each is group is represented as a bar

extending from a central vertical line,

with the length of each bar dependent

upon the population total for that

particular group. The centerline

separates the females from the males.

The female and male populations for

each group are represented by the

distance from the centerline, with

females on the right and males on the

left.