Lesson Y8-U04-L04

Y8-U04-L04 A Billion People: Reading Population Pyramids Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 10

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U04-L04, A Billion People: Reading Population Pyramids: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 10: Year 8: Asia in Focus: China and India, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What does a population pyramid show?

    • The number of rivers in a country and the length of each one
    • The height of mountains in a country, measured from sea level
    • The ages and sexes of people in a country
    • The rainfall totals across a country each month of the year

  2. On a standard population pyramid, which side shows females?

    • The bottom of the graph
    • The right side
    • The left side
    • The top of the graph

  3. Which age band is found at the very bottom of a population pyramid?

    • Over 80 years, the oldest group in the population
    • 40-49 years, in the middle of working life
    • 0-9 years, the youngest age group
    • 60-69 years, often just before retirement

  4. What does the length of a bar on a population pyramid show?

    • The number of rivers near the age band each year
    • The average temperature of the country in that year
    • Its height above sea level, measured along the coast
    • The percentage of people in that age band

  5. What does the BASE of a population pyramid show?

    • Older people who have retired and receive a state pension
    • Children, the future workers who will join the labour force
    • Rural farmers living in the countryside beyond the towns
    • Working-age adults who do most of the jobs in a country's economy each day

  6. What does the MIDDLE of a population pyramid show?

    • Working-age adults who do most of the jobs
    • Children under ten years old, who attend primary school
    • Older people over retirement age, often living alone
    • Migrants arriving in cities from the countryside each year

  7. A pyramid has a very wide base. What does this suggest about the birth rate?

    • Low, with few children being born each year
    • Average, with no change in births over time
    • High, with many children being born
    • Zero, with no babies being born at all

  8. A pyramid has a narrow base and a wide top. What does this show?

    • A young, fast-growing population with many children
    • A population with no older people at all and no children
    • An ageing population that may shrink
    • A population that doubles every year without any older people

  9. Who are 'dependants' in a population?

    • People who own large businesses and employ many workers in the region
    • Workers who pay the highest taxes to the national government
    • Tourists who visit a country for a short time each summer
    • People too young or too old to work, who rely on workers

  10. What is meant by 'population structure'?

    • How a country's people are split between young, working-age and old
    • The number of cities in a country and how far apart they are
    • The religion followed by most people in a country's capital city and its surrounding villages
    • The size of a country's land area measured in square kilometres

  11. A pyramid has a very wide base and a narrow top. Which conclusion is best?

    • The country's population is shrinking quickly, with very few births each year and fewer families every decade
    • The country has many children and few older people, so it is young and growing fast
    • The country has few children and many older people, so it is ageing
    • The country has no workers at all, so its economy cannot function and it has stopped growing

  12. A pyramid has a narrow base and a wide top. What problem might the country face?

    • Too many children to feed in schools across the whole country
    • Too few people living in cities, so the cities are largely empty
    • Too much land covered by forest that cannot be farmed
    • Too few workers to support many older dependants

  13. Which country has the wider base of children, China or India?

    • Neither country has any children, so the bases are both empty
    • India, because its birth rate is still relatively high
    • China, because its birth rates have stayed the highest since 1950
    • Both have exactly the same base and the same number of children

  14. Why has China's base of children narrowed?

    • Children moved to live in other countries in large numbers each year
    • Death rates rose sharply for young children across the whole country during the same period
    • Birth rates fell sharply, partly because of the former one-child policy
    • Schools closed and children stopped being born in many provinces

  15. China and India each have over 1.4 billion people. What is a key difference between their futures?

    • Both populations are exactly equal and unchanging, with the same births and deaths year after year
    • Both populations are shrinking very quickly, with fewer people every year
    • India's population is still growing fast, while China's has just started to fall
    • China's population is growing faster than India's, with more births each year

  16. In Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model, which falls first?

    • The birth rate, while the death rate stays high
    • Both fall at exactly the same time in every stage
    • Neither rate changes during the whole model
    • The death rate

  17. How many stages does the Demographic Transition Model have?

    • Seven
    • Three
    • Five
    • Four

  18. A pyramid's middle section is very large. What does this mean for a country's economy?

    • No one is working, so the economy has stopped in every town
    • Many working-age adults are available to do jobs
    • Many people have retired and no longer pay any taxes
    • Many children are in school and not yet able to work

  19. Why would a country with a narrow base and wide top face pressure on pensions and care services?

    • Fewer workers pay for more older people who need pensions and care
    • More children need pensions than older people in the same country, so pensions are paid mainly to young families
    • Pensions are paid only to children, not to any older people at all
    • Older people are not allowed to retire at any age in the country

  20. Which statement best judges a wide-based pyramid?

    • A wide base means nobody needs schools or hospitals, so they can close
    • A wide base always means the country is in serious trouble and crisis
    • A wide base means the country has no older people at all in its population, so nobody needs care
    • Many young people can become future workers, but schools and jobs must keep up

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