Have you considered creating a population pyramid in Google Sheets?
In today’s educational landscape, using Google tools has become second nature. One such tool is Google Sheets with the capability to easily create charts and graphs with students. In this blog post, you will learn how to create a population pyramid in Google Sheets and demonstrate its practical relevance.
Let’s explore how this skill can benefit teachers and students beyond the classroom.
What are population pyramids?
A population pyramid might look intimidating, but it is only two sets of bar graphs, creating a back-to-back bar graph. This kind of graph shows the distribution of a population broken down by age and sex:
- On one side of the graph, you will see the male population.
- On the opposite side, you will see the female population.
- Down the middle, you will see the age ranges from young to old.
There are three main types of population pyramids:
- Stationary – This graph shows that the population is stationary or stable. Therefore, the rate of this population will not change drastically over time but at a constant rate.
- Expansive – This graph will show high mortality and fertility rates. It shows a growing population with many young people being born but also many of the older generation dying off. The population shown in this graph will not necessarily increase, but there will be more young than old people.
- Constrictive – This type of graph could represent a shrinking population. It will show more people in the middle of the graph but fewer on the top and bottom, representing the older and younger generations.
Why are population pyramids used?
Population pyramids are used to analyze population trends. It shows the population growth (or decline) within a province, state, or country and can be used to show the needs of certain countries.
For example, a place with a larger population of middle- to older-aged individuals would have different needs than a place with a larger fertility rate, where many more people are being born.
Population pyramids are also an interesting way to see the male-to-female ratio within a population. Demographers study the distribution and trends of a population and mainly use population pyramids.
Why are population pyramids important to teach, and why should students learn them?
Teaching students about population pyramids and any kind of chart or graph, in general, is important as it teaches students how to compile data, represent data, and then analyze it. As there are many different chart and graph styles available, students need to learn what charts and graphs are best suited for different data.
Learning to represent data in the real world means using tools that create digital graphs and charts; it’s also more professional and visually appealing to see a chart made digitally rather than by hand.
Creating a population pyramid in Google Sheets will help students understand how data related to population is represented and analyzed on a graph, and it can help them study the population of various places in the world.
Even if your students don’t plan to use population pyramids in the real world, they are still a great way to get used to using various Google resources in unique and fun ways. If you are looking for new ways to teach material or ways to expand on topics within your classroom, using charts and graphs in Google Sheets can help.
How to Create a Population Pyramid in Google Sheets
To create your population pyramid, you must first compile your data. For this example, we will use the data from the Canadian population in 2022. Your data will go into a chart with three headers: Age Categories, Male, and Female. You can also find Canadian demographic data at Statistics Canada. If you are looking for American population data check out The United States Census Bureau.
The numbers for the male population on your graph will need to be inserted with a negative (-) sign in front. This is simply to facilitate making the graph, as the bars are meant to go on both sides of the horizontal axis. If both numbers were positive, you would see them stacked on one another, as in a double-bar graph.
To prepare your table for the chart, highlight the Age Categories column. From here, go to Format > Number > Plain Text. You can also make the numbers under Male and Female easier to read by adjusting how they are displayed by going to Format > Number > Custom Number.
To turn this data into a chart, highlight the table and select the Insert Chart symbol:
The chart should automatically appear as a population pyramid, but if it does not, double-click on your chart to go to the Chart Editor. Under Chart Type, choose Stacked bar chart from the dropdown menu.
Your chart should look something like this:
How can I make changes to my population pyramid?
It’s very easy to make changes to your population pyramid. You can change the colours of your chart, the names appearing on your horizontal and vertical axis, the fonts and font sizes of your titles and labels, and so much more.
The following changes can all be made by clicking the Customize tab in your chart editor.
- To change the chart title, select Chart and axis titles. Make sure Chart title is shown in the dropdown menu, and under Title text, you can type “Population Pyramid for <Country, Year>.” You can also centre and bold your title under Title format.
- To insert a title for the horizontal axis, select the Chart and axis titles dropdown. Where it says Chart Title, select Horizontal axis title from the dropdown menu, and under Title text, type “Number of People.”
- If you’d like to change the colour of the bars for males and/or females, select the Series dropdown. Where it says Apply to all series, select which gender you want to edit from the dropdown menu. Under Fill Color, you can choose a new colour for your population pyramid.
- You can also change where your legend shows up on the graph by going to Legend, and under Position, select where you’d like it to be.
If you’d like to add more gridlines to make the graph easier to read, go to Gridlines and ticks and check the boxes for Major gridlines, Minor gridlines, Major ticks, and Minor ticks.
- From here, if you want to have your chart on a separate slide or Google Doc, click the three vertical dots at the top right of your graph and select ‘copy chart’ from the menu. Then paste (ctrl-v) your chart into a Google Slide or Doc.
You can paste it linked, which means that anyone viewing that slide or doc will be able to select the link and go to the raw data. Or, you could paste it unlinked, like putting an image in a document. However, if you plan to add more data to your chart, when you paste it linked, if you add or change data on the Google sheet, you can update your chart to reflect that data.
Now that you know how to create a population pyramid in Google Sheets, I hope you and your students can utilize them in the classroom. It is so beneficial to learn different ways of representing data and using the various customization tools in Google Sheets; your students will be able to create graphs that are both informative and visually appealing. Plus, they will strengthen their skills in compiling, organizing, representing, and analyzing data.
Hopefully, teaching your students how to create a population pyramid in Google Sheets will give them a new appreciation of numbers and data and how they are collected and represented.
Geography Resources
Histograms can be used in geography to look for trends in data. If you teach in Ontario, check out these geography lesson plans.
This Grade 7 Geography Bundle is your ultimate resource for teaching Ontario Curriculum! Teachers are provided with 37 in-depth lessons to help their students explore and understand Physical Patterns In A Changing World as well as Natural Resources Around The World.
Topics for physical patterns include landforms, water systems, vegetation regions, climate regions, and the challenges posed by the physical environment. Students will learn the following about natural resources: types, issues, extraction methods, perspectives on use, the impact of use, environmental concerns, and energy types. Learn more about this resource here.
This comprehensive Grade 8 Geography Bundle covers both Strand A and Strand B of Grade 8 Geography for the Ontario Curriculum. With 35 in-depth lessons at your fingertips, you can now guide your students on an exciting journey to explore and understand global settlement patterns, their environmental impact, economic development, and how quality of life is impacted by many factors. With this Grade 8 Geography Bundle, you can inspire your students to become global citizens with a deeper understanding of the changing world. Learn more about this resource here.
This comprehensive Grade 7/8 Geography Bundle is meticulously designed to empower teachers and captivate students with 72 in-depth and engaging lessons. This bundle is specifically tailored to help educators nurture a deep understanding of essential concepts in both physical and human geography. Learn more about this resource here.
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