IELTS 9 Writing Model Essay (Free sample)

Test 3 Task 1 Question

The charts below give information on the ages of the populations of Yemen and Italy in 2000 and projections for 2050.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Test 3 Task 1 Model Essay by an Expert

The graphs show the populations of Yemen and Italy according to age group in 2000, and a prediction for the ages of each population for 2050.

In both 2000 and the projection for 2050, Yemen has a much higher proportion of children under 15 than Italy. In 2000, half the population in Yemen were under 15 years old. This is over three times the proportion of children in Italy in 2000. Both countries predict an ageing population in the run-up to 2050, but Yemen predicts a more pronounced fall in the number of people aged 14 and under: a fall of 13% compared to just 3% in Italy.

In both countries, the proportion of people aged 60 and over is expected to roughly double in the half century following the year 2000. In Italy, however, the proportion of this age group is much higher, in both 2000 and in the projection for 2050. In 2000, the proportion of this age group was eight times higher in Italy than Yemen; the prediction for 2050 is that this age group will make up around seven times more of the population in Italy than in Yemen.

The proportion of people aged15-59 years is expected to fall in Italy and grow in Yemen. In 2000, this was the significantly largest age group in Italy, at 61.6%, whilst in Yemen it was only the second largest group at 46.3%. In Yemen, this is expected to grow by 11% by 2050, but in Italy, it is expected to fall by 15%.

To summarise, in both Yemen and Italy it is predicted that the age group 60+ will rise between 2000 and 2050, but this is the only similarity in predictions for population age changes in this period.

(291 words)