Population Composition

The United Arab Emirates and most of the Middle-East nations have a huge population of migrant workers from neighbouring countries, for they are islands of rich economies in the region. Hence, they attract low-skilled workers from other countries, who move in for higher wages without bringing their family. Most of the countries in the region are patrilineal, and hence the male members lead the household and women are not encouraged to work. Thus, these countries have a higher sex ratio. For example, Qatar has a sex ratio of 311 males per 100 females (3.11:1.00, or three times as many males as females).

Below 15 years of age, an individual is too young to take care of herself/himself and is therefore incapable of working for an income, and is totally dependent on their parents. Above 59 years of age is assumed as the standard upper limit when health concerns get ahead of productivity, and so one becomes dependent on others for care and support. The ages 15 to 59 are considered as prime working age group as they are not dependent on any other group, and could earn to make a living without any serious hurdles.

Latvia has a sex ratio of 85 males per 100 females.

Population composition refers to the distribution of the population of any country based on certain demographic characteristics like age, gender, literacy, place of residence, occupation, etc. These variables are used to determine the structural composition of a region, and are often used to bring about positive changes in the population composition.

Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups. It is an important indicator of population composition as it represents the distribution of the population based on age, which further helps in gauging the trend of the population.

A greater proportion of the population above 60 years represents an ageing population, which requires more expenditure on health care facilities, and a high proportion of the young population would mean a high birth rate and youthful population.

The ratio between the number of women and men in the population is called the Sex Ratio. It is measured by multiplying the division of the size of the population of each sex with 1000 (or 100) – a standard.

The Rural-Urban divide is a crucial factor as the lifestyles differ from each other in terms of livelihood and social conditions. For instance, the age-sex-occupational structure, density of population and level of development vary between rural and urban areas. Thus, the rural-urban balance is an important factor in explaining the population composition of any region. Each country has slightly different criteria for differentiating rural and urban populations. Generally, rural areas are those where people are engaged in primary activities and urban areas are those when the majority of the working population is engaged in non-primary activities.

In Western countries, males outnumber females in rural areas and females outnumber males in urban areas. These countries have a high influx of females from rural areas to avail the vase job opportunities, and farming is highly mechanised and largely male-dominated.

In contrast, sex ration in Asia urban areas remains largely male dominant due to the predominance of male migration. Moreover, female participation in the farming activity is high and shortage of housing, high cost of living, the paucity of job opportunities and lack of security in cities, discourage women from migrating from rural to urban areas.

The age-sex structure of a population refers to the number of females and males in different age groups. The two variables are represented in a population pyramid, the shape of which reflects the characteristics of the population

Based on the shape of the pyramid, there are three trends observable in any population, these are:

Expanding Population: represented in a triangular shaped pyramid with a wide base, is typical of less developed countries. These have larger populations in lower age groups due to high birth rates.

Eg: Nigeria

Constant Population: represented by a bell-shaped pyramid that tapers towards the top. Such populations have almost equal birth and death rates, leading to a near constant population.

Eg: Australia

Declining Population: represented by a narrow base and a tapered top, such pyramids show low birth and death rates. The growth rate for such a population is usually zero or negative.

Eg: Japan