Population Pyramid Maker
Make a population pyramid for any of 194 countries from 1950 to 2030 using UN World Population Prospects 2024 data, or paste your own age and sex numbers.
Customize the title and colors, then download a PNG or SVG. It’s free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser.
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Sex ratio: 101.0 males per 100 females · Largest cohort: 35-39 (7.0%) · Median band: 35-39
The three pyramid types, with real examples
UN WPP 2024 · percentages of national populationWide base, narrow top. High birth rate, large youth cohort, short life expectancy. Population grows fast.
Roughly even-width bars from base to middle. Birth rate near replacement, longer life expectancy. Population stable or slowly growing.
Narrow base, wider middle. Birth rate below replacement, large elderly cohort. Population shrinks (without immigration).
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024 (population.un.org/wpp) — age-by-sex breakdown for the year shown. Charts are percentage of total national population so the shapes are directly comparable despite the countries' very different sizes.
Anatomy of a population pyramid
- Y axis = age groups, youngest at the bottom (so the chart literally grows upward as a cohort ages).
- X axis = population (either absolute count or % of total).
- Males on the left, females on the right (a near-universal convention).
- Asymmetries are stories — a wider female top means women outlive men; a missing cohort is often a war or famine.
How to read a population pyramid
| Shape on the pyramid | What it means | Example countries |
|---|---|---|
| Wide base, narrow top | High birth rate, short life expectancy. Fast-growing population. | Niger, Chad, DR Congo |
| Narrow base, wide middle | Low birth rate, large working-age cohort, growing elderly cohort. Population peaking or shrinking. | Japan, Italy, Germany |
| Even base & middle | Birth rate near replacement, mortality even. Stable population. | India, Indonesia, Mexico |
| Sudden indent in one band | A historical shock — war, famine, pandemic, one-child policy. | Ukraine 90s cohort, China 1960 (famine), Cambodia 1975-79 |
| Bulge in a specific age band | A baby boom — usually a post-war or post-policy fertility spike. Reads as an upward-moving wave over decades. | US Baby Boom (1946-64), Iran post-revolution boom |
| Wider female top | Women outlive men. Universal in modern populations; gap is usually 3–10 years. | Russia (10+ yr gap), Sub-Saharan Africa (smaller gap) |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a population pyramid?
A back-to-back bar chart showing a population's age structure: age groups on the Y axis, count (or %) on the X axis, males on the left, females on the right. The shape reveals the demographic stage — a wide base means a young, growing population; a narrow base with a wide middle means an aging one.
How do I make a population pyramid here?
Pick "From a country" and choose any of 194 countries plus a year from 1950 to 2030, or pick "From your own data" and type or paste age and sex numbers. The chart updates live. Click Download PNG or Download SVG to save it.
What are the three types of population pyramids?
Expansive (wide base, narrow top — high birth rate, fast growth, such as Niger), Stationary (similar-width bars from base to middle, slow growth, such as India), and Constrictive (narrow base, wide middle — below-replacement fertility, such as Japan or Italy). The three types correspond to stages of the demographic transition.
Can I use my own data?
Yes. Switch to "From your own data", then fill in the male and female counts per 5-year age band. You can also paste TSV or CSV from a spreadsheet — the columns are age range, male, female; the header row is optional.
Where does the country data come from?
UN World Population Prospects 2024 (population.un.org/wpp). The maker loads each country's full 1950 to 2030 series on demand, broken into 21 standard 5-year age bands (0-4 through 95-99, plus 100+).
What formats can I download?
PNG at 2× retina resolution (good for slides, social, and print) or SVG (scalable vector, editable in Illustrator, Figma or Inkscape). Both are generated entirely in your browser — your data is never uploaded.
Can I share my custom pyramid?
For country mode, the page URL updates with your selections — copy and share it. For custom mode, download the PNG or SVG and share that file; custom numbers are kept in your browser only, not in the URL.
Why are pyramids drawn with youngest at the bottom?
Convention: it lets you watch a cohort age upward over time as the chart grows. It also makes the youth bulge — the most policy-relevant signal in fast-growing populations — visually prominent.
Related demographic tools & calculators
- Population Projection 2050 & 2100UN-projected population for any country, any year through 2100, plus peak-year info
- Life Expectancy by CountryLife expectancy at birth for 194 countries, 1950–2100
- Fertility Rate by CountryTFR + birth rate per country, below-replacement tracker
- Population Density by CountryMost & least crowded countries + "what if" comparisons
- Population When You Were BornWorld population in your birth year vs 2026
- What Generation Am I?Gen Z, Millennial, Boomer ranges + 194 country breakdowns
- Median Age by CountryWorld's oldest & youngest populations
- Dependency Ratio CalculatorYouth + elderly per 100 working-age adults
- Male to Female RatioGender ratio per country, age band, and globally
- Countries by PopulationAll 195 countries ranked by population
Sources & Methodology
- Country data: UN World Population Prospects 2024 — age-by-sex population for 194 countries, 1950 through 2030. Each country’s full annual series loads in your browser when you pick it.
- Age bands: 21 standard UN bands — 0-4, 5-9, …, 95-99, 100+.
- Rendering: All charts are inline SVG generated in your browser at render time. Downloads are produced client-side: SVG is the rendered chart serialized; PNG is the SVG rasterized to a 2× canvas. No data leaves your device.