Part 2 – Factors in Population Growth
The natural increase of a population depends on the number of births and deaths. If the number of
births is greater than the number of deaths at any given point in time there will be natural increase in
the number of people. Typically, the growth rate of a population is given in terms of the birth rate
(number of births per 1000 people per year) and death rate (number of deaths per 1000 people per
year).
1.Write an equation that expresses the growth rate of a population in terms of the birth rate
and death rate.
2.What circumstances might result in a high birth rate for a population? A low birth rate?
3.What circumstances might result a high death rate for a population? A low death rate?
4.Look at these charts of Birth and Death Rates. If both birth rates and death rates are
declining worldwide, why is the world’s population still increasing? Based on this birth rate
and death rate information, what could you say about the world’s growth rate in recent
years?
5.There are many factors that contribute to birth rates and death rates. Fertility rates and life
expectancy are just two examples. Fertility rate is the average number of children born to

women in a given population. Look at the summary demographic data for the U.S. in this
chart. From 2006-2017, what was the trend in the fertility rate among the groups of women
for all age ranges? What does this mean for the number of births in the US?
6.Look at historical information for U.S. birth rates and fertility rates between 1920 and 1999.
How might fertility rate affect the birth rate? How might it ultimately affect the population
growth rate?