The document provides instructions for making a histogram using population data from the Census Bureau website. It involves selecting a country, finding its population breakdown by age and sex, calculating the percentage of the total population for each group, and creating a horizontal bar chart in Excel to display the data as a histogram. The histogram will show the percentage of the country's total population for each age group of males on the left in negative values and females on the right.

1. How to Make a HistogramHow to Make a HistogramHow to Make a HistogramHow to Make a Histogram
1. Log on to the Internet and go to www.census.gov
2. On the homepage, in the “People & Household” category, select “International”.
3. When the new page opens select the “International Data Base” link.
4. Click on the “Data Access” link.
5. Select your country from the drop down menu and use the data provided to create a histogram.
All data used is from 2010 (if you country doesn’t have data for this year, use the closest year
it does have data for), so that your comparisons are valid.
6. Click on the tab that reads “table” at the top. Select Midyear Population, by Age and Sex.
Use the indicated chart for your data collection.
7. To construct the pyramid, you will need to calculate the percentage of the population made up by
each gender’s age group. Divide each segment by the TOTAL populationDivide each segment by the TOTAL populationDivide each segment by the TOTAL populationDivide each segment by the TOTAL population (NOT ON THE(NOT ON THE(NOT ON THE(NOT ON THE
CHART!)CHART!)CHART!)CHART!), not the gender’s population., not the gender’s population., not the gender’s population., not the gender’s population. You will need to do this on separate paper or in Excel.
For instance: if a country has a total population of 263,119,000 and the population of males ages
0-4 is 10,515,000 then:
10,515,000 = .04, or 4%
263,119,000
8. You must first complete the calculations. The numbers for ALL age classes of both genders
combined should add up to close to 100% (please check your work and use the total box at the
top!). You can use the chart below as a guide.
9. Once you have completed a chart with age categories and the percent of males and females who
fall into each category, use the excel template to create your histogram. Be sure to place a
negative sign in front of all male values.
10. Highlight the entire table (including column titles) and use the insert tab to view the chart
options. Choose a Horizontal bar graph option. Use the center top chart option of the 6 sub
chart options you see. Click next. Review your Histogram to be sure it is accurate. Click Next.
11. Title your chart and each axis appropriately. Be sure your title includes your countries name and
what is depicted in the graph. Click Finish to finalize your graph.
12. Be sure to Save the Exel file or e-mail it to yourself. You will need to print the Histogram and
include it in your report.
AgeAgeAgeAge % of Males% of Males% of Males% of Males % of Females% of Females% of Females% of Females
TotalTotalTotalTotal 49.7%49.7%49.7%49.7% 50.3%50.3%50.3%50.3%
0-4 3.6% 3.4%
5-9 3.5% 3.3%
10-14 3.6% 3.4%
15-19 3.8% 3.7%
20-24 3.4% 3.3%
25-29 3.2% 3.2%
30-34 3.3% 3.2%
35-39 3.9% 3.7%
40-44 3.7% 3.8%
45-49 3.6% 3.7%
50-54 3.1% 3.2%
55-59 2.8% 2.9%
60-64 2.4% 2.5%
65-69 1.9% 2.0%
70-74 1.4% 1.5%
75-79 1.1% 1.3%
80-84 0.8% 1.1%
85-89 0.4% 0.7%
90-94 0.1% 0.3%
95-99 0.1% 0.1%
100+ 0.0% 0.0%