Comparison of Population Pyramids of Us, China, and Ethiopia

In this paper, I will discuss the population pyramids from the year 2012 for the United States, Ethiopia, and China. Population pyramids illustrate the proportions of the ages of a given population. Over time, population pyramids show shifts in the median age and can predict future changes. "Each horizontal bar represents a 10 year cohort" (Hooyman, 2011). "A population pyramid illustrates the structure of a population at a given point in time" (McIntyre, 2010). The factors that affect how a population ages, in any particular country, include the total fertility rate, life expectancy at birth, and the infant mortality rate. Life expectancy is the age that an infant is expected live to. The total fertility rate is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime. The infant mortality rate is how many infants die at birth for every 1000 that are born. The fertility rate has a direct impact on the population pyramid. The percentage of the population that is considered old increases as the fertility rate drops. This can be seen in countries, such as China. According to the US Census bureau, the total fertility rate in China went from 2.21 in 1990 to 1.55 in 2012. "Global aging is occurring for two reasons. More people are living longer and fertility rates have declined in many regions of the world" (Hooyman, 2011).

In China, there is an imbalance between the number of males and the number of females in the population. There is a significantly lower number of females than males. Sex selective abortions, infanticide, and abandonment of female infants attribute to this. There is a sociocultural preference, in China, for male children. This has led to a shortage of marriageable females, which, ultimately, will further decrease the fertility rate. A patriarchal Confucian system that holds men at a higher social standing than women has led to male preference. Birth planning policies were created in the 1970's in an attempt to decrease overcrowding in China. These policies require couples to obtain authorization for each child and impose penalties on those who do not comply. The one child policy enacted in 1979 evolved into a "one son policy" as technology allowed prospective parents to learn the sex of their unborn child via an ultrasound. If the fetus was a female the pregnancy of been terminated. The societal view that males are more valuable than women and the limit, imposed by the government, on the number of children a couple are allowed to have, has led to an imbalance of males to females. As the Chinese population has become more economically affluent more couples are choosing to have more than one child. Having more than one child is becoming more affordable. The aging population trend in China is not unique, but its rate is. The population over the age of 65 is projected to double in 69 years, in the United States. In China, it is anticipated to double in 27 years (Jianmin, 2007). The aging population of China is one of national importance. Its effects will be felt as when the entire baby boomer cohort will be over the age of 65 (2030). The working population will dwindle and the elderly population will increase. The baby boomers entering old age In China are more likely to be poor. They are also more likely to be socially marginalized. A study done in the year 2000 showed that "one-third of the urban and township elderly was living in relative poverty - the figure was as high as 40 percent in rural areas" (Jianmin, 2007). The issues of those reaching the age of 65 in China has more to do with economics and financial stability than the amount of people.

The United States is already there. As more of the baby boomer cohort ages into retirement, the population pyramid is shifting. The rectangular shape of the population pyramid illustrates this. Today, one of every six Americans is over the age of 60. By the year 2030, one in four Americans will be over the age of 60. This is illustrated in the United States population pyramid (shown above) by the bulge in the group of people from 45-64 years of age. These are the baby boomers. People are living longer; life expectancy at birth has increased from 68.2 years, in 1950 to 75.2 years, in 1989. Declining mortality rates have resulted in the bars at the top of the pyramid to widen. Fertility rates in the United States have also been rising, as more families, opt to have an increased number of children. The overall population is growing, as fertility is slight higher than "replacement level" since 2006. (Shrestha, 2009). The population