Pick out the main features of this pie chart for your overview, write your report on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The pie charts below show the age structure of the population of one country in 1990 and 2020, and a forecast for 2050.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
| Category | 1990 | 2020 | 2050 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–14 | 28% | 19% | 14% |
| 15–39 | 38% | 34% | 28% |
| 40–64 | 24% | 30% | 31% |
| 65+ | 10% | 17% | 27% |
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
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Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
The pie charts show the age structure of the population in one country in 1990 and 2020, together with a forecast for 2050.
Overall, the population is ageing. The proportion of children and young adults falls throughout, whereas the share of people aged 65 and over increases substantially.
In 1990 the largest group was aged 15–39, at 38%, followed by the 0–14 group with 28% and those aged 40–64 with 24%. Only 10% of the population was over 65. By 2020 the proportion of children had fallen to 19%, and that of the 15–39 group to 34%, while the 40–64 group had grown to 30% and the over-65s to 17%.
The forecast for 2050 shows these trends continuing. The 0–14 group is expected to represent just 14% of the population, half of its 1990 level, and the 15–39 group will fall to 28%. By contrast, the 40–64 group will become the largest, at 31%, and the 65+ group is projected to rise to 27%, which would be almost three times the 1990 figure.
By 2050 the over-65s are predicted to outnumber children by almost two to one.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| age structure | proportion of each age |
| ageing population | more old people |
| forecast | prediction |
| be projected to | be expected to |
| nearly triple | become almost three times |
| decline steadily | fall gradually |
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