Age Structure

Correct answer: A. Youthful age structure

When people aged 0–14 make up 35 percent of the total population, children form a large share of the population. Such a high child proportion usually indicates a youthful age structure. It often reflects a history of relatively high fertility, although the exact interpretation can also be influenced by mortality, migration, and the chosen age categories. A youthful structure creates strong demand for schools, immunization, nutrition, child health, and eventually jobs as these children grow older.

Option A is correct. Option B would be associated with a larger proportion of older people and a smaller child share. Option C is impossible as a description of the whole population because children are clearly present in substantial numbers. Option D is also incorrect: children are dependents, so the population cannot have zero dependency merely because the working-age group exists. The 35 percent figure therefore most reasonably signals a youthful population.

Correct answer: B. The working-age share is large

The 15-to-59 age group is generally used as a broad working-age category in population studies. If this group makes up 65 percent of the total population, nearly two-thirds of the people are in the ages commonly associated with potential employment and economic activity. This indicates a large working-age share, although it does not prove that all of these people have jobs or are economically active.

Therefore option B is the most appropriate conclusion. The information does not establish that child dependency is very high, because the sizes of younger groups are not given. It also does not show that the elderly are the largest group. Finally, a large working-age share does not mean there are no dependants; children and older people may still form the remaining 35 percent. A demographic dividend is possible, but it requires jobs, skills, health, and effective policies.

Correct answer: C. Population ageing

When the share of people aged 60 years and above keeps increasing, the population is undergoing ageing. This usually reflects a combination of fewer births, better survival, and longer life expectancy. As the proportion of children falls and more people reach older ages, the age structure becomes older even if the total population is not growing rapidly. The correct choice is C. A child-population expansion or a working-age explosion would describe different age patterns, while literacy transition is not the demographic process shown here.

Population ageing has practical consequences for planning. Governments may need more pensions, accessible health care, medicines, assisted living, and long-term support. At the same time, the relative number of workers may eventually decline if younger cohorts remain small. The change is gradual and may be influenced by migration, but a sustained rise in the 60-plus share is a direct indicator of ageing. It does not by itself prove that every older person needs institutional care.

Correct answer: B. Narrow base and relatively broad upper part

A population pyramid shows the size of different age groups, usually with younger ages at the bottom and older ages at the top. When children make up a small share, the youngest age groups are relatively small, so the base becomes narrow. When elderly people form a large share, the upper part is relatively broad compared with that of a youthful population.

Therefore, the likely shape is a narrow base and a relatively broad upper section, making option B correct. This pattern is associated with an ageing population, often linked with lower fertility and longer survival. Option A describes a youthful population with many children and few older people. Options C and D do not correctly represent how age composition is shown in a population pyramid.

Correct answer: A. Schools and child health services

A large child-age population creates immediate demand for services used by children. The government may need more classrooms, schools, teachers, textbooks, nutrition programmes, vaccination, primary health centres, and safe spaces. Planning these services is important because a large number of children will enter school and require health support at similar times.

The correct policy is not to focus only on old-age services, because elderly pensions, retirement homes, and geriatric medicine serve a different demographic need. This does not mean older people should be ignored; it means that the first capacity pressure created by a large child population is usually in education and child health. Therefore, option A is the most appropriate answer. It directly connects population composition with public-service planning.

Correct answer: B. Employment and skill development

The population aged 15 to 59 is generally treated as the main working-age group. If this group becomes larger, more people may be entering or participating in the labour force. The country may therefore need more jobs, vocational education, apprenticeships, technical training, and other skill-development opportunities. Planning is also needed to make productive use of this potentially large workforce.

Hence option B is correct. Primary-school demand mainly depends on the number of young children, while elderly homes and pensions concern the older population. Those needs may still exist, but they are not the most direct consequence of a growing 15–59 age group. The answer does not mean every person in this range is employed; it means the potential working-age population and related demand are increasing.

Correct answer: B. High dependency pressure

Children and elderly people are commonly described as dependent age groups because many of them are not normally in the labor force. The working-age population supports households, public services, and economic production, directly or indirectly meeting the needs of these dependents. Dependency pressure depends on the size of dependent groups compared with the working-age group.

If children and older people together form a very large number relative to working-age people, each worker may have to support more dependents. This can increase demands on families, schools, health services, pensions, and social assistance. It does not indicate low or zero dependency, nor does it show that working-age people dominate the population. Therefore the likely situation is high dependency pressure, so option B is correct.

Correct answer: A. Demand for primary schools

Children usually enter primary school at a fairly predictable age, so a sustained fall in the child population will eventually reduce the number of new pupils. The effect is not always immediate: children already enrolled may continue for several years, and migration or changes in enrolment rates may alter the outcome. After this time lag, fewer pupils can mean less need for new classrooms, teachers, and some primary schools, especially in areas where the decline is large.

Choice A is correct because primary education serves the age group that is shrinking. Demand for pensions, geriatric medicine, and long-term elderly care is more likely to rise as the population ages, not fall because there are fewer children. The question asks about a likely service effect after some years, so the timing condition supports the school-related answer rather than an instant change.

Correct answer: B. Elderly dependency

Elderly dependency refers to the pressure placed on the working-age population by older people who may no longer be in regular employment. It is commonly measured by comparing the elderly population with the working-age population, often using an age ratio. If the share of elderly people rises while the working-age group does not grow equally, this dependency is likely to increase.

Thus, option B is correct. The question concerns older people, so child dependency is not the relevant measure. Student dependency is not the standard age-structure category, and saying that no dependency rises ignores the direct effect of population ageing. A higher elderly share may increase needs for pensions, health care, and support, although the exact burden also depends on employment, retirement age, and social policy.

Correct answer: A. Because employment and skills are also necessary

A large working-age population is a potential economic resource, not an automatic economic benefit. People in this age group can contribute to production only when they are healthy, educated, appropriately skilled, and able to find suitable work. Businesses and institutions must also provide enough jobs and use workers productively. If employment is scarce, a large working-age group may instead face unemployment, insecure work, or dependence on others. Public investment in schooling, vocational training, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation is therefore important for converting demographic potential into actual growth.

Option A is correct because employment and skills are essential conditions for benefiting from a large labour supply. Option B is false: working-age people can participate in economic activity when opportunities exist. Option C is false because children are not the only producers, and option D is false because tax contributions are not limited to elderly people. The age structure creates an opportunity, but policies and economic conditions determine whether that opportunity becomes a demographic dividend.

Correct answer: A. The youngest age groups

A population pyramid displays the age composition of a population. Its vertical position generally moves from the youngest ages at the bottom to the oldest ages at the top. Therefore, the base mainly represents babies, children, and other youngest age groups. The horizontal width shows how large each age group is, often separately for males and females.

A broad base means that children form a large share of the population and may indicate relatively high birth rates. In contrast, the upper part represents older people, while the middle contains adult age groups. The base does not specifically represent working men or migrants. Hence option A, the youngest age groups, is correct.

Correct answer: A. Working-age adults

A population pyramid is usually divided into age bands, with males and females shown on opposite sides. Its base represents the youngest people, its middle represents adults, and its upper part represents older people. The exact age boundaries may vary between countries or diagrams, but the broad interpretation remains the same.

The middle section therefore gives information mainly about adults and the potential working-age population. A wide middle may indicate that a large share of people can participate in work, although actual employment also depends on health, education, and economic conditions. Newborns are represented near the base, not throughout the middle. The middle does not specifically identify foreigners. Thus option A is correct.

Correct answer: A. Decline in fertility

The base of a population pyramid represents the youngest age groups and therefore reflects the size of recent birth cohorts. If the base becomes narrower over time, fewer young children are being added than in earlier periods. A common demographic explanation is a decline in fertility or birth rate. This may happen because of education, urbanisation, later marriage, family planning, or changing family preferences.

A narrowing base does not by itself prove that elderly mortality has increased. Nor does it mean that the working-age population will disappear immediately; older child cohorts continue to move into working ages over many years. Similarly, a rapid rise in fertility would normally broaden the base. Therefore the best interpretation among the choices is option A, decline in fertility. The conclusion concerns the pattern of new births, not a sudden change in every other age group.

Correct answer: A. More people are surviving to older ages

A population pyramid places younger ages at the bottom and older ages toward the top. If the upper section widens over time, older age groups contain more people relative to the past. This usually reflects better survival to advanced ages, resulting from improved healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, living conditions, or other reductions in mortality. It may also reflect the ageing of a large earlier generation, so the exact cause can vary.

Choice A is the best answer because it describes the most direct demographic meaning of a wider upper section. Rising fertility would mainly broaden the base, not the top. A doubling of children would also affect the lower part, while universal out-migration would not specifically produce a wider elderly section. The diagram indicates an increasing older population share, not necessarily one single cause in every case.

Correct answer: A. Child dependency ratio

The child dependency ratio compares the number of children with the population of working age. It indicates how many children depend economically or socially on each group of working-age people. If children form a very large share while the working-age population is relatively small, the numerator of this ratio rises relative to its denominator.

Therefore, the child dependency ratio may increase, making option A correct. This can place greater demands on families, schools, health services, and future employment planning. The elderly dependency ratio concerns older people, so it cannot be inferred merely from a large child population. Sex ratio measures the relationship between males and females, and literacy ratio measures education, so neither directly answers the question.

Correct answer: A. It may remain approximately stable

Elderly dependency is usually expressed as the number of older people relative to the working-age population. The important measure is therefore a ratio, not the absolute number of elderly people alone. If the elderly population and the working-age population both grow at approximately the same rate, the numerator and denominator increase together, so the ratio may change very little. The elderly population can still become larger in absolute terms without making dependency double.

Option A is correct because it describes this approximate stability. Option B is too certain and would require the elderly group to grow much faster relative to the working-age group. Option C is impossible merely because both groups grow. Option D confuses elderly dependency with child dependency; the categories are based on different age groups. Exact results depend on the precise growth rates and definitions, so “approximately” is the appropriate wording.

Correct answer: A. It may increase

Child dependency compares the number of children with the population of working age, commonly using a ratio such as children aged 0–14 divided by people aged 15–64. If the number of children remains stable while the working-age population becomes smaller, the denominator decreases. As a result, children make up a larger share relative to each working-age person, so child dependency may increase. The absolute number of children does not need to rise for this ratio to grow.

Option A is correct because a stable numerator combined with a falling denominator generally raises the dependency ratio. Option B is too extreme and does not follow from the information. Option C is wrong because the ratio can change when the working-age group changes. Option D confuses child dependency with elderly dependency; a country can experience either or both, but the stated figures directly concern children and working-age people. Therefore, A is the appropriate answer.

Correct answer: A. The elderly share is relatively small

If people above 60 years form only 5 percent of the population, the most direct conclusion is that the elderly share is relatively small. This percentage gives information about one age group, not the complete age structure. To judge whether a country is ageing rapidly or whether elderly dependency is high, we would also need information about trends, the working-age population, and possibly the child population.

Thus option A is the safest and most appropriate conclusion. A 5 percent share does not prove that the country is definitely ageing rapidly, because ageing depends on change over time. It also does not by itself establish a high dependency ratio, and it certainly does not mean that children are absent. The supplied answer correctly avoids conclusions beyond the data.

Correct answer: A. Large investment in education and child health

When children make up 40 percent of a country's population, the country has a very large youthful group. Children need services before they can become independent adults, so public planning must give special attention to schools, teachers, classrooms, nutrition, vaccination, and child health. Investment is also needed to help these children gain skills and find work when they enter adulthood. Therefore, option A, large investment in education and child health, is the most suitable answer.

A high child share may create pressure on family budgets and public facilities, but it can become an opportunity if children receive good education and health care. Pensions and elderly homes are important in countries with large elderly populations, not as the main immediate response to a 40-percent child population. The word “only” in the other choices makes them especially unsuitable: a young population may eventually need employment and other services as well. Thus option A follows directly from the age composition described.

Correct answer: A. Burden of dependents on working-age people

People aged 15 to 59 are commonly treated in this question as the main working-age group. Children and older people are generally more dependent on working-age adults for household support, public services, or income. If the working-age share becomes small, fewer potential earners must support a relatively larger number of dependents.

This raises the dependency burden, meaning that each working-age person may have to support more non-working-age people. Families may face greater care and financial responsibilities, while governments may need to spend more on education, health, or social protection. A small working-age share does not create a very large labour force, eliminate employment needs, or make dependents disappear. Therefore A is correct.

Correct answer: A. Employment and skill development

A youthful age structure means that a large share of the population is made up of children and adolescents who will gradually enter working age. This creates an important planning opportunity as well as a responsibility. Governments need to provide good schooling, vocational and technical training, higher education, health support, and enough productive jobs. Support for entrepreneurship can also help young people use their skills and participate in the economy.

Option A is correct because employment and skill development prepare the large young population for future work. If education and jobs are insufficient, unemployment, underemployment, and social pressure may increase. Elderly care, pensions, and geriatric disease services are important in ageing societies, but they are not the main immediate planning priority indicated by a youthful age structure. Planning should be broad, though the central focus here is skills and employment.

Correct answer: A. Pension and health systems

An ageing age structure means that older people form a relatively large share of the population. As this group grows, governments and families may need to provide more retirement income, medical treatment, medicines, accessible services, and long-term care. The working-age population may also face a greater responsibility for financing pensions and public health services.

For this reason, pension and health systems are likely to experience greater pressure, so option A is correct. Primary schools, child nutrition, and infant vaccination remain important, but they are most directly influenced by the size of the child population. They are not the main pressure identified by an ageing structure. The question asks for the most likely broad future effect, not for a service that disappears completely.

Correct answer: A. Opportunity for a demographic dividend

A large working-age population can create a demographic dividend because more people may be available to work compared with the number of children needing support. A small child population can reduce child dependency and may allow families and governments to spend more per child on education and health. However, the opportunity becomes an actual dividend only when suitable jobs, skills, health, and productive investment are available.

Option A is correct because the described age structure creates an opportunity for economic growth. Option B is opposite to the stated condition, since fewer children usually reduce child dependency. Option C is incorrect because a large working-age group is a potential labour force, not an absence of labour. Option D is too broad and does not describe the economic opportunity created by this structure.

Correct answer: A. Youthful age structure

An age structure is called youthful when children make up a large share of the population and older people make up a relatively small share. A population pyramid for such a country often has a broad base because many children are present, while the upper part is narrower because fewer people reach or remain in old age. This pattern usually creates strong future needs for schooling, nutrition, health care, and later employment.

Option A is correct because the described proportions are the defining feature of a youthful age structure. Option B would require a large elderly share, not a small one. Option C suggests similar numbers across age groups, which is not stated, and D wrongly excludes children and older people. The description concerns the composition of all age groups, not only the working population.

Correct answer: A. Ageing age structure

An age structure describes the relative shares of children, working-age adults, and older people. When the elderly share is large and the child share is small, the population has relatively few young entrants and many people surviving to older ages. This pattern is called an ageing age structure.

It commonly develops when fertility remains low for a long period and life expectancy is comparatively high. Such a structure may influence planning for pensions, health care, long-term support, and the size of the future workforce. A youthful structure would instead have a large child population. The options about students only or zero age structure do not describe a recognised population pattern. Therefore, option A is correct.