Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Death rate:
The annual number of deaths per 1,000 population.
Natural increase:
The annual rate of population change as calculated by subtracting the
death rate from the birth rate. (Typically, the birth rate exceeds the death rate, so population
rises. But occasional short-term calamity such as a plague, war, or economic turmoil may pro-
duce the opposite effect.)
Dealing with births and deaths: Natural increase
Just as humans are unevenly spread across the surface of the earth, so, too, is population
growth. Indeed, perhaps the single most important demographic reality of our times is that the
rate of natural increase differs dramatically in different countries and regions of the world (see
Figure 11-4). The highest rates tend to be found in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. The
lowest rates occur in North America, Europe, northern Asia, plus Japan, Australia, and New
Zealand.
On the map, a “high” rate of natural increase is considered to be in excess of 2 percent. That may not
seem like a lot, a 2 percent rate of natural increase will double a country's population in 35 years.
Therefore, every country in the “high” category on the map doubles its citizens in some time less than
that. Indeed, approximately half of the “high” countries have rates of natural increase in excess of 2.5
percent (a doubling time of 28 years) and about half of those have rates of 3.0 percent (23 years) or
greater.
Figure 11-4:
Nat-
ural increase.
Rapid growth, poor country
