1. Based on the demographic data for Portugal, here is a population pyramid for the year 2017:

2. The dependency ratio calculated ended up being 53.24% (rounded) per 100 people. Based on this number, I would say that the dependency ratio is more high than low; however, the number is fairly average in the middle. On the other hand, there seems to be a large number of the working class that technically outweigh the dependent.

3. In Portugal, according to the information on the population pyramid, it seems there are fairly large numbers of both male and female births. It would also be fair to say that many of those born survive and move into the next stage of life. With deaths, it seems the main drop-off age for men is around 80-85, whereas for women it seems to be around 90-95. These statistics could be an insight to the health of both women and men and what ages it may begin to decrease at for those who are older. In the separation of female and male population, there are overall more females; however, they are split among different age groups and the men sometimes have higher numbers than the women. For example, there seems to be a higher number of older females in the community compared to men, but there is a higher number of young boys in the community compared to young girls. I would say that the shape of the pyramid could be classified as “low fluctuating” and in stage 4 on the Demographic Transition Model because there doesn’t seem to be as many births in more recent years, as well as there is a fairly low death rate considering there is a large population in the 60+ demographic.

4. Based on this population pyramid, I’d say that Portugal should begin to prepare an immigration plan or something similar to that because the population of the younger generation is nowhere near as large as the middle aged class. This could lead to population decrease so it would be beneficial to have people from other countries immigrate and balance out the population, depending on the size and resources available. Business wise, it could be a smart idea to advertise to the middle class (those around 30-60 years old) because they are majority of the population; therefore, helpful to the economy and businesses.