Population Pyramids

What is a population pyramid?

Animations (Flash)
1956 to 2006 – Animated age pyramids for Canada, the provinces and territories
1901 to 2001 – Animated age pyramids for Canada, the provinces and territories
Projection 1971 to 2056 – Animated age pyramid for Canada

Interactive tool
Compare 2006 pyramids for two different areas: Canada, a province or territory, or a city (Note)

2006 - Age pyramids (figures):

• Fig. 7 – Age cohorts among the Canadian population
• Fig. 8 to 20  – Pyramids for the provinces and territories
• Fig. 21 to 27 – Comparison of pyramids for selected metropolitan, urban and rural areas

See the article Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006 by Age and Sex

Related lesson plans

The age-sex distribution of a population is an important feature to analyse if you wish to understand a country's demographic situation. A handy way to illustrate the structure of a population is to graph the number of males and females for various ages. A horizontal bar graph with data for males on the left and females on the right is called a population pyramid.

Vivian Z. Klaff sets out the following 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 growth — 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.

---

Flash: You need the free Macromedia Flash Player 6 to view Flash audio-visual presentations. To view (open) these files, simply click on the link. Flash files may not be accessible by some devices. For more information, visit the Macromedia website or contact us for assistance.

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.