The actual rate of population change can be determined by using the following
formula:
EXAMPLE
The United States had a birth rate of 14.6 live births per 1,000 population in
one year, compared to India’s birth rate of 22.2 in that same year. The death
rate in that year for the United States was 8.3 deaths per 1,000 population,
compared to India’s rate of 6.4. Calculate the population growth rates (%) for
both the United States and India for that year.
Answer:
A current world growth rate of approximately 1.3% when applied to the
about 7 billion people on Earth yields an annual increase of about 85 million
people. Because of the large and increasing population size, the number of
people added to the global population will remain high for several decades, even
if growth rates decline.