Chapter 3 Population Geography - W.H. Freeman

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the so-called demographic transition,” the model itself
must be questioned.
Age Distributions
Some countries have overwhelmingly young populations.
In a majority of countries in Africa, as well as some countries
in Latin America and tropical Asia, close to half the
population is younger than 15 years of age (Figure 3.10,
pages 88–89). In Uganda, for example, 51 percent of the
population is younger than 15 years of age. In sub-Saharan
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Domosh_Fig3.05b - Death Rate
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Africa, 44 percent of all people are younger than 15. Other
countries, generally those that industrialized early, have
a preponderance of middle-aged people in the over 15–
under 65 age bracket. A growing number of affluent countries
have remarkably aged populations. In Germany, for
example, fully 19 percent of the people have now passed
the traditional retirement age of 65. Many other European
countries are not far behind. A sharp contrast emerges
when Europe is compared with Africa, Latin America, or
parts of Asia, where the average person never even lives to
age 65. In Mauritania, Niger, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and
many other countries, only 2 to 3 percent of the people
have reached that age.