Sample answer
The graph gives demographic information about the aging populations of Japan, Sweden and the USA from 1940 to 2040.
Overall, if predictions are correct, all three countries are likely to have around 25% of their populations over 65 by the end of the period, having increased by up to five-fold in the previous one hundred years.
At the start of the period, these three countries had relatively small populations of old people as Japan began the period with only 5%, while Sweden and the US had around 7% and 9% respectively. Thereafter, the two Western countries’ elderly populations followed similar paths, both rising steadily at first, after which a steeper rise is anticipated in the last 20 years or so of the period shown. By 2040, they will both have reached almost 25% of the population.
Turning to the aging population of Japan, it showed no growth at all until early in the 21st century, as it fell to less than 4% for much of the 1960s to the late 1980s. More recently, it has grown at a much faster rate than those of its western counterparts, and by 2040 Japan is expected to have the highest proportion of senior citizens of the three countries shown, at around 27%.
Count: 209 words
