Chapter 23. Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

23.1 Synopsis

true

You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Welcome

Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

This activity explores the concept of demographic shift by presenting data for several different nations. Some of these nations have large populations under the age of 15 and very few over the age of 65, and some have the opposite. Later in the activity, you will view Germany’s demographic data and reflect on how such data are interpreted by society.

Click the 'Get Started' button below to start this activity

videnko/Shutterstock

23.2 Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

Nations that have high birth rates also have high death rates, short life spans, and less education. These variables are connected. For example, the publicly funded Reggio Emilia early-childhood-education program, perhaps the best in the world, originated in Italy, and Italy has one of the lowest proportions of children younger than 15. By contrast, many nations of sub-Saharan Africa have almost no government aid for children or the elderly.

Go to map

Data from World Bank, August 26, 2019; August 27, 2019.

23.3 Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

In nations with lower birth rates and longer life spans, the demographic shape looks more like a square than a pyramid. This is now the case in several nations, including Germany, where the average number of children per family is 1.6. Germany’s demographic shape is in stark contrast to that of India, which is distinctly pyramid-shaped.

Data from U.S. Census Bureau, September 18, 2018.

23.4 Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

videnko/Shutterstock

Question 23.1 Elders and Children as a Proportion of a Nation’s Population

VR0aCHXUnt1RUJx2uodvkgEMBErVRy/L81vJE7L3wDcfrJqrntJvhPOJklhAA54drOhZ9QSgyeFerc3CosE8FEW0QWtxrxeK7x76lcq9CdcwxsjMaubECkCWa6oCSjtxJJ9HRfc5CZAGtEIKKxmeUHxq0VEGkw78JH/61kxrGtzUmvYZgbwGWM7G4uwjWztUG987YL2W8CL7dIgYrscPfa3m6Mf7403zPvg2gA==

Some may fear that a growing population of elders will result in the exhaustion of Social Security and Medicare, or that hospitals and nursing homes will be overcrowded and/or prohibitively expensive, resulting in countless elders who are dependent on the government or on others’ charity. However, most of the 15 percent who are elderly in the United States are self-sufficient and productive. Furthermore, while it is true that there are four times as many people over age 80 than there were 50 years ago, the overall population has also grown, meaning that the percentage of the population aged 80 and over has actually doubled—from 1.6 percent in 1965 to 3.8 percent in 2018. Especially when compared to the other 96.2 percent of the population, this increase should not be alarming.

23.5 Activity Completed!

Congratulations! You have completed this activity.

REFERENCES

World Bank. (2019, August 26). Population ages 65 and above (% of total population)—World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS

World Bank. (2019, August 27). Population ages 0-14 (% of total population)—World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.0014.TO.ZS

U.S. Census Bureau. (2018, September 18). Mid-year population by five year age groups and sex – custom region – Germany. Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base.