CHAPTER III AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION · Analytical Report, Census of the Maldives...

Analytical Report, Census of the Maldives – 2000 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________ Age and Sex Composition of the Population

CHAPTER III

AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION

By Ms. Fathmath Riyaza


_________________________________________________________________________ Age and Sex Composition of the Population

AGE & SEX COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION

INTRODUCTION

The age and the sex structure of the population are the most important

demographic characteristics that are captured by a census of a population. Age and sex

are two attributes that largely influence an individual’s role in society. An attempt will be

made in this chapter to examine the various aspects of age and sex composition of the

population of Maldives at the national and sub-national levels using data collected from

the quinquennial censuses. Regarding the collection of these data, the each individual

was asked to give his/her current age as well as the date of birth, to aid the reporting of

age accurately.

AGE STRUCTURE

The age structure of a population, that is; the distribution of the population in

different age groups, constitutes an important subject of demographic analysis and

development planning. Age structural dynamics includes fertility, mortality and as well

as related changes in family planning and social arrangements. The use of age-

structure goes beyond demographic analysis to other important areas. Public polices

aim to improve the welfare of a population; population welfare in turn is determined and

shaped by the needs of present and future population; a population’s needs and its

potential are strongly shaped by its demographic composition- i.e. by age-structural

transition. In consideration of various uses of age data, information on age is routinely

collected in every census and survey conducted in the country. As in most developing

countries the quality of age reporting is a matter of contention in the Maldives. Age

misreporting remains a problem in the census. Certain segments of the population do

not know their dates of birth so it ultimately leaves the enumerator to estimate the age

to the likeliest age to be. In some cases the estimates could be several years off from

their actual age.



SINGLE YEAR AGE DISTRIBUTION Figure 3.1

Single year age distribution of the population for the Republic, 1985-2000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96

98 +

Age

Po

pu

lati

on

(p

er '

000)

2000 1995 1985



Heaping, i.e., digit preference, or the lack of heaping, i.e., digit avoidance, are

the major forms of errors to be found in single year age data. As can be seen from

figure 3.1, Census 2000 shows very little heaping. The age distribution by single years,

in the absence of dramatic decline in mortality and migration and assuming age is

accurately reported, is expected to follow a descending pattern in which the population

would decline with the increase in age. There is no apparent preference of ages for the

young population, thus gradually giving out a smooth curve. As the level of education

increases among the younger population, it makes it easy for the respondents to report

their ages accurately, judging from the grade they are attending. The level of education,

particular among the younger generation has improved over the last two decades.

However, it can be noticed from the figure that preference for age 15, is more

pronounced in the year 2000 than in the previous Censuses. This finding is confirmed

by looking at the distribution of population in the year 1995. This is acceptable as the

cohort of 10-14 years of age in 1995 replaces those in the age group of 15-19 in year

2000, it would show the same trend as that of 1995 unless the population is exposed to

severe migration and mortality changes. This could also be in the view of the special

significance the teenagers attach to this age as being at the best age of teenage. It

could also be noted that in the atolls the standard of education has increased

significantly providing secondary schooling opportunities leading to the ‘o’ level

standard. This attributes to the accuracy of age reporting between the ages 15-20.

However, there maybe the possibility of misreporting of ages and errors associated with

them.

The figure 3.2 represents the age distribution of the population for male and the

atolls.



Figure 3.2

Single year age distribution of the Populationfor Male' and the Atolls, Census 2000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98+

Age

Po

pu

lati

on

( p

er '

000)

Atolls Male'



Figure 3.2 suggests that the same age preference is there for the Male’ as well

as for the Atoll. However it is more pronounced in the single year age distribution for the

Atolls. This occurs from age 25 onwards where ages ending in 10 and 20 are obviously

the preferred digits during the 2000 census. The peak for age 15 is significant here also,

showing a greater preference for the digit than the previous census. Compared to

previous censuses, certain contradictions could also be revealed from the figure. It can

also be noticed from the single year age distribution of the atolls that the peak for age 5

has gone down in 2000, as it moved to 9-10 years old cohort. The preference for the

ages 30, 36, 50 & 60 has gone down considerably showing an improvement in age

reporting. On the other hand, the population distribution of Male’ does not show such

significant peaks.

The extent of digit preference or age reporting can be measured by Whipple’s

Index, an index designed to reflect preference for the terminal digits of ‘0’ and ‘5’,

usually in the age group 23-62. Whipple’s Index varies from 0 (when the digits 0 and 5

are not reported in the census data) to 100 (when there is no preference for 0 or 5 in the

census data) to a maximum of 500 (when only the digits 0 and 5 are reported in the

census data). If 100, there is tenderness towards no preference for certain digits. The

values of Whipple’s Index obtained by sex for the census years are presented in Tables

3.1.

Table 3.1: Value of Whipple’s Index for the Census years 1985, 1995 & 2000.

VALUE OF WHIPPLE’S INDEX SEX

1985 1995 2000

Male

Female

Total

175.3

178.4

176.8

149.3

145.8

143.1

109.5

104.3

106.9

The overall Whipple’s index obtained for Maldives for the 2000 Census data was

106.9. We now try to examine this value using the standards for assessing the quality of

age data given in Table 3.2



Table 3.2: Standard for Assessing Degree by Quality of Data using Whipple’s

Index.

Quality of Data Value of Whipple’s Index

1-

2-

3-

4-

5-

Highly Accurate Data

Fairly Accurate Data

Approximate Data

Rough Data

Very Rough Data

Less than 105

105-109.9

110-124.9

125-174.9

175 and more

(Source: Methods and Materials of Demography, Shyrock and Siegel)

The decision of the Whipple’s Index to focus on the age range of 23 to 62 is quite

arbitrary. The ages of early childhood and old age are excluded since, frequently, they

are more influenced by other types of errors and issues than digit preference; also ‘the

assumption of equal decrements from age to age is less applicable’ at the older ages

(Shryock and Siegel).

According to this standard, the quality of age data can be considered fairly

accurate. This indicates minimal age heaping in the Maldives in digits ending in 0 and 5

in 2000. However, comparison of the data shows a greater improvement in the

accuracy in collection of the data. Compared to the previous years, the quality of age

reporting is far better in 2000 Census. This can be acceptable with the efforts made

toward improving the quality of the Census within the past five years. Census 2000 was

made popular among the public through media and this increased the awareness

among the people for the importance of such data collection. The data in the Table 3.1

also shows the changes in the pattern of sex difference in the quality of age reporting in

the censuses. In 2000 census, the quality of age reporting was better for the females

than to the males like in the 1995 census. This can be true to some extent as the

females are the ones who take the responsibility of looking after the family and judging

from the age of their children, they are able to tell their ages at least. And also females

are the ones who tend to be the respondents at the time of census enumerations, and it



is difficult for them to give the exact age of their husbands or spouses, in turn giving

inaccurate data on them.

The extent of digit preference for the whole of Maldives is compared with Male’

and Atolls for the year 2000. Table 3.3 shows the results.

Tables 3.3: Value of Whipple’s Index for Male’ and Atolls for the 2000 Census

Value of Whipple’s Index for the 2000 Census Sex

Male’ Atolls

Male

Female

Both Sexes

111.8

109.7

110.9

108.3

102.1

105.1

It can be noted that the age reporting is more accurate for the Atolls than in the

capital city, Male’. This is particularly due to the significant improvements in health care

facilities, spread of schooling in rural areas, increased population awareness, wider

spread of family planning programmes and the standardization of living conditions of the

people in the islands of Maldives. It can also be taken into consideration that in Male’

the age reporting of females is more accurate than males. This is expected especially in

the Atolls’ as most respondents were females who reported the age of their spouses. In

Male’, the value of Whipple’s Index is high showing the quality of data collection is not

accurate as in the islands. In the islands it is easy to get hold of every ones ID cards

while in Male’ its quite difficult to get each and every persons, thus giving a rough

estimate of their age.



FIVE-YEAR AGE DISTRIBUTION

The percentage distribution of the total male and female population of Maldives

by five-year agegroup is given below in Table 3.4.

Table 3.4: Percentage Distribution of Population by Five-Year Age Groups and

Sex for the Republic, Census 1985,1995 & 2000.

Source: Population and Housing Censuses, Ministry of Planning and National Development

It may be seen from the table that the erratic nature of age distribution as

revealed in the single year age distribution is almost removed with the classification of

age data by five-year age groups. The age distribution of the population in the absence

of migratory movement or with drastic changes in births and deaths is expected to

follow a smooth transition where there would be a decline from the preceding year to

the next age cohort. An examination from the 2000 five-year age group data shows, the

pattern of the age grouping is similar to the above mentioned features. However there

are certain ascertains to this. It can be observed that between the age groups 10-19,

1985 1995 2000 Age Group

Male Female Male Female Male Female

0-4

5-9

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

70-74

75+

Not Stated

17.8

14.2

12.5

11.0

9.3

6.8

4.6

3.8

3.7

4.4

3.7

2.7

2.3

1.2

0.9

1.0

0.1

18.8

14.7

12.3

12.1

10.2

7.1

4.5

3.7

3.6

3.9

3.1

1.9

2.0

0.8

0.6

0.5

0.0

15.3

16.7

14.7

9.9

8.0

7.1

6.1

5.1

2.9

2.7

2.6

2.6

2.4

1.5

1.0

1.1

0.3

14.9

16.6

14.6

10.5

9.2

7.8

6.5

5.3

2.7

2.7

2.5

2.3

1.9

1.1

0.7

0.7

0.1

11.4

14.1

15.2

12.1

8.5

7.2

6.5

5.7

4.6

2.9

2.2

2.3

2.5

1.9

1.3

1.1

0.6

11.5

14.0

15.2

12.6

9.0

7.7

7.0

5.9

4.6

2.6

2.2

2.2

2.2

1.5

0.9

0.8

0.4

Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00



the population is in excess to the previous age group. This can be explained from the

table as we compared the 2000 data with the 1995 five age groups. As the ages 0-14

from the 1995 data shift one cohort up, this trend is observed in the population by the

year 2000. The trend is also observed in the age group 60-64. It is worthwhile noting

that; it was the case in 1995 for the age group 59-60 with the excess of males. Apart

from this, the population has followed a smooth declining trend as the population moves

from one cohort to the next cohort.

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Keeping in mind the preceding discussion on the quality of age data, we will

examine the age structure of the Maldivian population and its implications on future

demographic trends.

As can be seen in Figure 3.4 the age structure of the Maldivian population

remains one that is young. A population pyramid is a graphical way to show the age and

sex composition of a population. Census results of 2000 further show that in the

Maldives 11 percent of the population are under five years of age children while 51 or

more percent were aged 18 years or more. As of 2000, less than half of the population

is below the age of 15. (40.7 percent). This may have resulted from the low level of

fertility that has prevailed in the country recently. It is interesting to note that the, size of

the age 0-4 group has given the pyramid quite a narrow base when compared with the

1995 age cohort and the age group when compared with the age cohort 5-9 is smaller.

This picture suggests that the level of fertility has gone down considerably during the

intercensal period. A declining fertility trend could only be reflected in terms of smaller

number of children born each year after a time lag from the start of the decline. This

structure also predicts effects on population. At the same time, the number of new

entrants to the labour force would increase.



Figure 3.4: Population Pyramid of Censuses 1985, 1990, 1995 & 2000



Figure 3.5: Population by Broad Age Groups for the Republic for Census years-

1985, 1995 & 2000

The change in the age structure during the intercensal period is characterized by

a gradual decline in relative size of the ‘young’ population. The percentage of the

population aged 0-14 declined from 46.4 years to 40.7 years. The size of the working

population increased to 55.1 percent from 50.3 percent between the two censuses. The

elderly segment in the total population increased to 3.7 percent in 2000. In future, the

rate of growth of the old population would present an important variable in determining

the allocation of financial resources for pensions and social services in order to secure

a decent and healthy living for this segment of the population.

Population aging is generally considered when the median age of the population

reaches 30 or above, while a median age of 20 or below is taken as a young population

(Shryock and Siegel, 1976:B2). In fact, comparison of the median age of the population

of Maldives in 2000 is 18.7 years to 16.7 years in 1995. This suggests that the

population of Maldives has been ‘young’.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Pe

rce

nt

0-14 15-64 65+

Age Groups

1985

1995

2000



Another important aspect is the comparison of women in the broad age groups

sub-divided into reproductive ages.

Table 3.5: Females by Broad Age Groups, Census years 1985-2000

Age groups 1985 1995 2000

0-14

15-49

50+

45.84

45.18

8.95

46.06

44.63

9.18

40.63

49.37

9.66

Total 100.00 100.00 100.00

It can be viewed from the table that the percentage of females in the age group

15-49 has increased over the years. A large proportion of women in the childbearing

ages will contribute to an increase in the number of births. High birth rate during one

period will produce a population in the age group 15-49 a generation later. Hence, even

under the declines in fertility, the number of births might keep on increasing because of

the rise in the number of women in the reproductive age in the future.

DEPENDENCY RATIO

The ‘young’ dependency ratio and the ‘old’ dependency ratio for the 1985, 1995

& 2000 censuses can be observed from Table 3.7

Table 3.7: Dependency Ratio for the Republic, Census year 1985, 1995 & 2000.

AGE GROUPS DEPENDENCY RATIO CENSUS

YEARS 0-14 15-64 65+ NS TOTAL

YOUNG OLD OVERALL

1985

1995

2000

45.1

46.4

40.7

52.3

50.3

55.1

2.5

3.1

3.7

0.1

0.2

0.5

100.0

100.0

100.0

86.2

92.3

73.8

4.8

6.1

6.7

90.9

98.4

80.6



The procedures for calculating the dependency ratios are:

Population aged 0-14

a) Young dependency ratio = x 100 Population aged 15-64

Population aged 60 years & above

b) Old dependency ratio = x 100

Population aged 15 - 64

c) Overall dependency ratio = Young Dependency Ratio + Old Dependency Ratio

The dependency ratio for the total population, defined as the ratio of the young

and old population to the working age population, has declined marginally from 98.4 to

80.6. It can be seen from Table 3.9 the young population of about 40 percent

contributes to 73 percent of the dependency ratio in 2000 of the overall dependency

ratio. It can also be observed that the proportion in the working age group has

increased to 55 percent leading to a decrease in the proportion of children under age

15. This has led to a decrease in the overall dependency ratio showing a better

prospects for the development of the country as a whole. The overall dependency ratio

has decreased by about 18 percent. In other words, every 100 persons in the

productive ages had to support 81 persons in terms of food, clothing, shelter, health,

education, etc. This decrease can be explained by a drop of 5.7 percent in the young

population dependency ratio that is larger than the observed increase in the old

population dependency ratio of 0.02.



AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION BY RURAL AND URBAN AREAS

This refers to the age distribution in Male’ and in the other atolls. The percentage

distribution of the population for urban and rural areas are given below in table 3.6.

Table 3.6: Population by Broad Age Group for the Atolls and Male’- 1985, 1995 &

2000 Census

Age Groups

0-14 15-64 65+ NS Total

Male’

1985

1995

2000

Atolls

1985

1995

2000

37.4

34.8

29.84

47.7

50.4

44.8

60.9

62.6

67.1

49.4

46.1

50.6

1.6

2.2

2.4

2.8

3.4

4.2

0.0

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.2

0.4

100

100

100

100

100

100

It can be observed from the table that the proportion of those in the age group

65+ has increased both in the Atolls and in Male’. The proportion in the age group 15-

64 has also increased. However, for the age group 0-14, the population has gone down.

This shows that the fertility rate has gone down within the intercensal period.

In the age structure of the population of Male’ and Atolls there has been a shift in

percentage. The most noticeable change that had occurred was the decrease in the

proportion of population in the age group 0-14. Overall, it can still be defined as a young

population.

If indeed the transition from high to low fertility is already on track, the proportion

of the children will decline in the short term period while the economically active



population will increase and will do so for sometime to come. Demographically this may

bring about a positive change in economic dependency ratios among the population but

unless the economic environment allows a nearly full participation of the working age

population, the actual burden of supporting a dependent population may remain the

same if not worse.

DEPENDENCY RATIO OF THE POPULATION BY RURAL AND URBAN AREAS

If we compare the dependency ratio for the capital and the atolls, it can be

viewed from the following Table 3.8



Table 3.8: Dependency Ratio for Maldives, Census Years 1995 & 2000

Dependency Ratio

Locality Year Young Old Overall

Republic 1995 2000

92.3 73.8

6.1 6.7

98.4 80.6

Male’ 1995 2000

55.6 44.5

3.5 3.6

59.1 48.1

Atolls 1995 2000

109.4 88.5

7.4 8.6

116.7 96.8

North Thiladhunmathi South Thiladhunmathi North Miladhunmadulu South Miladhunmadulu North Maalhosmadulu South Maalhosmadulu Faadhippolhu Male’ Atoll North Ari Atoll South Ari Atoll Felidhu Atoll Mulakatholhu North Nilandhe Atoll South Nilandhe Atoll Kolhumadulu Hadhunmathi North Huvadhu Atoll South Huvadhu Atoll Foammulah Addu Atoll

1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000 1995 2000

124.0 100.3 120.3 109.4 112.9 104.2 125.0 115.4 123.3 110.2 109.8

87.7 110.2

86.4 50.7 45.2 93.1 93.5 84.1 76.7

100.1 71.8

100.2 88.6

132.5 109.3 106.9

96.7 113.9

99.1 124.2 101.2 118.5 113.4 126.1 116.4 129.6 112.2 110.5 102.7

8.2 9.6 8.6 9.1 7.1 8.2 8.3 9.8 7.9 9.1 7.8 7.3 9.1 9.1 3.7 4.0 6.2 6.7 5.6 5.9 5.5 5.9 8.1 9.6 4.7 5.6 6.5 8.2 6.8 7.9 5.8 6.4 6.6 9.2 9.1

10.8 7.9 9.3 9.4

11.5

132.2 114.0 128.9 109.4 120.0 104.2 133.3 115.4 131.2 110.2 117.6

87.7 119.3

86.4 54.4 45.2 99.3 93.5 89.8 76.7

105.7 71.8

108.3 88.6

137.2 109.3 113.4

96.7 120.7

99.1 130.0 101.2 125.1 113.4 135.2 116.4 137.5 112.2 119.8 102.7



The decrease in overall dependency ratio observed for the Republic is also

observed for Male’, Atolls and at the atoll levels. It can be observed from the table that

the dependency ratio has decreased in all the atolls when compared with the 1995

Census results. On a locality basis, the lowest dependency ratio was observed in 2000

for the Male’ Atoll (45.2) when compared with the 54.4 in 1995. This is largely due to the

fact that the main tourism zone is located in the atoll. This attracts many working age

people to the atoll, in search of jobs, in the resorts. Felidhu Atoll came second with a

decrease in dependency ratio from 105.7 to 71.8 with South Ari Atoll next with a decline

in ratio from 89.8 to 76.7. The highest dependency ratio was observed for South

Huvadhu Atoll with 116.4. South Miladhunmadulu had the second highest dependency

ratio with 115.4 and North Thiladhunmadulu the third with 114.0. The most significant

change in dependency ratio is observed for Felidhu Atoll.

As expected, the dependency ratio is higher in the rural areas than in Male’ as

the proportion of children and older population is high in rural than the urban, while the

proportion of people in the productive age group is higher in the urban area than in rural

area. If we could bring about this change in the near future, the rural- urban differential

wouldn’t last long.

SEX COMPOSITION

Sex composition of the human population is one of the basic demographic

characteristics, which is extremely vital for any meaningful demographic analysis.

Changes in sex composition largely reflect the underlying socio-economic and cultural

patterns of a society in different ways. Sex ratio defined here as the number of females

per 100 males in the population, is an important social indicator to measure the extent

of prevailing equity between males and females in a society and influences directly the

incidence of marriage, birth, migration, economic activities, etc. Development

programmes may also have differential impact on male and females quality of life.



Only one indicator is used to study the sex composition of the population of

Maldives: i.e. sex ratio.

SEX RATIO

In normal circumstances, the overall sex ratio of a population is expected to be

100. A sex ratio above 100 indicates an excess of males and one below 100 indicates

an excess of females. At birth there are more males than females, resulting in a sex

ratio at birth over 100. At higher ages, males tend to die more frequently than females;

this will produce a sex ratio below 100. As a result the overall sex ratio is expected to be

100. For the Republic, the total number of males outnumbered the females by 4299.

Table 3.10 shows the persistent dominance of males in the total population of the

Maldives, declining over the years. The overall sex ratio for the Republic was 103 in

2000. This may have attributed the decline in female mortality over the past years. At

the same time, a heightened nutrition awareness together with advances in health and

medical care and other services resulted in an extension of life expectancy for both

genders. The life expectancy of males and females were 70.7 and 72.2. The change in

the trend for greater life expectancy of the females was observed at the mid of 1990’s.

Table 3.9: Sex Ratio for the Republic, Census years 1985, 1995 & 2000

Population Year

Male Female Sex Ratio

1985

1995

2000

93482

124622

137200

86606

120192

132901

108

104

103

SEX RATIO BY AGE GROUPS

The observed pattern of the sex ratios of the population across age groups

shows serious deviation from normal expectations. Table 3.11 shows the pattern of



these ratios derived from the enumerated population of the censuses 1985,1995 and

2000. In both the three years the pattern was the same- high at young ages, declining

to less than 100 at ages 15 to 35 and again excesses of males at the older ages. At

young ages the sex ratios are high as expected; that is, an excess number of males

primarily because at birth, more males babies are born. The short time within the

following age cohort, this excess of males are offset by the differential mortality rates. It

can be noticed that the sex ratio has gone down over the intercensal period of 1995-

2000. The increase in the deficit of females with the advancement of age may be

explained either in terms of increasing net higher emigration of females than males or

increasing excess risk of deaths among the females than among the males with the

advancement of the age.

Table 3.10

Sex Ratio by Five Year Age Groups.

Sex Ratios Age Groups

1985 1995 2000

0-4

5-9

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

70-74

75+

102

104

110

99

98

103

110

111

111

121

125

158

128

161

148

211

107

105

104

98

90

94

97

100

110

105

105

119

132

145

156

161

103

104

103

99

98

95

96

99

102

114

105

109

115

135

153

151



At ages 15 to 39, the sex ratio observed was low in 2000. This is particularly the

case in the age group 25-29 where observed sex ratio is lowest (95) while in 1985 and

1995 it was lowest in the age group 20-24 (98 and 90 respectively). This trend can be

observed clearly with the following graph. Unlike the tend to observe low sex ratio ratios

in the older age groups, it can be noticed from the table that the sex ratio are higher

from age 40 onwards. If we observe the tend over the past 15 years, this is the same

case noticed in each year. Therefore, such a high ratio which has been observed for

over more than 15 years might still take time to decrease. Out migration may also have

attributed to the high sex ratio among the older ages.

Figure 3.6:

Figure 3.7 present the graph the on sex ratios of the population by rural; atolls for

the census years 1995 and 2000. It can be observed from the graph that the sex ratio of

Kaafu Atoll is high compared to other areas. This can be attributed to the fact that there

Sex ratio by five year age groups for 1985, 1995 & 2000

0

50

100

150

200

250

0-4

5-9

10-1

4

15-1

9

20-2

4

25-2

9

30-3

4

35-3

9

40-4

4

45-4

9

50-5

4

55-5

9

60-6

4

65-6

9

70-7

4

75+

Age groups

Sex

rat

io

1985 1995 2000



are excess of males in this atoll than females reflecting the concentration of

employment opportunities in this atoll.



Figure 3.7:

Sex Ratio at Atoll Level for the Atolls - 1995 & 2000 Census

0

50

100

150

200

250

Haa

Alif

Ato

ll

Haa

Dha

al A

toll

Sha

viya

ni A

toll

Noo

nu A

toll

Raa

Ato

ll

Baa

Ato

ll

Lhav

iyan

i Ato

ll

Kaa

fu A

toll

A. A

lif A

toll

A. D

haal

Ato

ll

Vaa

vu A

toll

Mee

mu

Ato

ll

Faa

fu A

toll

Dha

alu

Ato

lhu

Tha

a A

toll

Laam

u A

toll

G. A

lif A

toll

G. D

haal

Ato

ll

Gna

viya

ni A

toll

See

nu A

toll

Atolls

Sex

Rat

io 1995

2000



CONCLUSION

This chapter has evaluated the quality of age and sex data for the 2000

Population and Housing Census of Maldives. The first pertained only to age data and

evaluate the degree to which the Maldivians preferred or avoided in their census

response ages ending in certain digits. The Whipple’s Index, calculated showed virtually

no preference for ages or avoidance of such ages.

The population pyramid for the Census 2000 showed expectations for a

population in the future with the decline in fertility rate.

It was also focused on the dependency ratio. The Census 2000 showed a

dependency ratio of about 81 percent for the Republic. This showed that the

dependency ratio has improved over the past 5 years indicating the increased number

in the ’working age group’. A comparative analysis was also made on a regional basis

showing the highest dependency ratio for the South Miladhunmadulu Atoll.

The sex composition of a population refers to the distribution of the people by

sex. The calculated sex ratio for the country as a whole for the Census 2000 was 103.

This might have attributed to the decline in female mortality and current circumstances

in the country.

CHAPTER III AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION · Analytical Report, Census of the Maldives...

Documents

Transcript of CHAPTER III AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION · Analytical Report, Census of the Maldives...