By publishing the
population pyramid the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia extends the range of web services for the general public and joins the debates about population ageing and its consequences. The interactive population pyramid enables the presentation of the sex and age structure of the population of Slovenia between 1971 and 2061.
The data are easily understandable when presented graphically. By visualizing data on the sex and age structure of the population, the changes in the demographic portrait of the population of Slovenia. Annual fluctuations in births, prolongling of life expectancy, the impact of migration, wars and other exceptional events are shown explicitly. And indirectly, changes in people’s lifestyle can eventually also be identified.
Population ageing influences the shape of the pyramid The shapes of population pyramids are constantly changing through time. Today many of them do not even have the shape of a pyramid. The real shape of a pyramid has a population where children represent the most numerous group of the population and the pyramid narrows toward the top. With ageing the probability of death is increasing. This kind of pyramid is typical for young populations with short life expectancy.
For older populations, including the population of Slovenia, the shape of the pyramid is more like a vase. Due to a small number of births, prolongling of life and consequently higher share of older population, the pyramid peaks are more rounded, while the bottom parts of the pyramids, which represent the younger population, are getting narrower.
The impact of wars on the structure of population The population pyramid for Slovenia for the year 1971 has a shape that could be with a bit of imagination described as a pyramid. From that pyramid the direct and indirect impacts of World War I and World War II can be observed.
More outstanding are indirect impacts of the two wars seen as notches caused by the decline in births. The reasons for birth decline were uncertain conditions during the war and the absence of male population, which was actively involved in the war. Because of the characteristics of WWI (frontal warfare and multi-year absence of male population aged 18-41) the notch in the age 52-55 (born in 1915-1919) is more typical than the notch for the population born during WWII. Direct consequences of both wars are shown in the disturbed male to female ratio due to higher war mortality among the male population.
In the population pyramid for 2008 the direct impact of WWI and the impact of spanish flue can no longer be detected. However, the notch caused by birth decline during WWII can still be seen.
Appearance of the “baby boom generations” After WWII, Slovenia experienced the so called baby boom, which can be seen in the pyramid for 1971 as the biggest bulge. In the first years after WWII around 28,000 to 31,000 children were born in Slovenia each year, and in the 1949-1953 period the most children after WWII ever; on average 34,000 per year. The experts interpret this as compensation or the postponement of births and as a consequence of the change in the social and economic situation after the war.
In addition to the bulge of post-war baby boom generations (today aged 51-55 years), a similar increase in the population pyramid of 2008 can be seen in the age 26-32. These are the children of the first post-war baby boom generation, who were born to women aged on average 25 years. These are also second generation immigrants (children born to immigrants from ex-Yugoslavia). Due to a distinct decline in births after the mid-1980s, the pyramid narrows more and more at the bottom. In the last three years the trend of increasing fertility as a consequence of women from the “second baby boom generation” postponing births to later ages has been seen.
Women live longer than men Until the age of 59 years the number of men exceeds the number of women in all ages. This is the consequence of the sex ratio among newborn children as well as the sex structure of immigrants. Above 60 years of age the share of women starts to rise because women live on average longer than men.
Comparison of the population pyramid for Slovenia in 1971 and 2008
LEGEND:
1 losses during the WWI
2 decrease in births during the WWI
3 losses during the WWII
4 decrease in births during the WWII
5 baby-boom generation after WWII
6 high fertility in the seventies
7 decrease in births
8 surplus of females
Statistical data on the population are among the most sought statistical data in Slovenia Users of statistical data express great interest in population data. The data on the sex and age structure of the population of Slovenia for various territorial levels and time are published regularly in the
SI-STAT data portal.
SORS provides statistical data for debates and making decisions on the steps shaping the future of Slovenia Preparation of population pyramids is not an isolated case of providing statistical data for making decisions on the steps shaping the future of Slovenia. In 2008 the Statistical Office issued a publication called
Slovenia’s Population is Ageing – New Solidarity Relations between Generations are Needed, which presents the effects of the ageing of Slovenia’s population from various aspects.
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