Contour Maps of Population Surfaces

Vaupel, J.W., Gambill, B.A., & Yashin, A.I. (1985). Contour Maps of Population Surfaces. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-85-047

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Abstract

Contour maps are useful for displaying demographic surfaces, including surfaces of population levels and fertility, marriage, and mortality rates. Most often the surfaces are defined over age and time, but such other dimensions can be used as life expectancy or population growth rate. This paper presents a bouquet of contour maps to suggest the broad potential of their use in demographic studies. The maps presented range from maps of Italian mortality, French population levels, and U.S. birth rates, to maps of Coale and Demeny's and Brass's model life tables. The value of the maps lies in their substantive import: by giving demographers visual access to population surfaces, the maps can help demographers uncover and understand population patterns. The text of the paper adumbrates some of these patterns and discusses the use of contour maps in exploratory data analyses and model building, including the use of maps of residuals in fitting models to data.

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