Infographic 2
The 7 million people aged 65 and older represent nearly 1 in 5 Canadians in 2021

Infographic description

The title of the infographic is "The 7 million people aged 65 and older represent nearly 1 in 5 Canadians in 2021"

This infographic comprises two overlapping pyramids that represent the age-sex at birth structure of the population in 2021 (indicated by an outline) and in 1971 (indicated by a solid form).

The line and horizontal bars on the y-axis are located in the middle of the chart and divide the pyramids into two. They indicate the ages 0 to 100 and older. Persons of male sex are represented on the left side of the axis, and persons of female sex on the right side. The y-axes on the outside of the chart show year of birth for the 2021 pyramid, from 2021 at the bottom to 1921 at the top. They correspond to the ages shown in the middle of the graph.

The horizontal bars on the x-axis represent the number of people for each age from 0 to 300,000. They are identical on both the right and left sides of the y-axis. For persons of male sex, the largest cohort in 1971 was those who were 8 years old, with 241,150 persons. For persons of female sex, the largest cohort in 1971 was those aged 10, at 230,525. The smallest cohorts in 1971 were at age 99 for both sexes. For persons of male sex, there were 230 persons aged 99 in 1971 and for persons of female sex, there were 390 persons aged 99 in 1971.

In 2021, the largest cohorts for people of both sexes at birth were aged 58. There were 268,140 persons of male sex aged 58 in 2021 and 276,900 persons of female sex aged 58 in 2021. The smallest cohorts in 2021 for both sexes at birth were aged 99. There were 1,285 persons of male sex aged 99 in 2021 and 4,655 persons of female sex aged 99 in 2021.

The 1971 age pyramid has a wide base and a narrow apex, giving it a pyramid shape. However, the very bottom of this pyramid is narrower. The shape of the 2021 age pyramid is less like a pyramid and more like a mushroom: narrower base, wider area between the ages of 60 and 75 years, and a pointed apex.

Source(s): Census of Population, 1971 and 2021 (3901).