Explain the term annual growth rate of population. How is it affected by the birth rate?
The rate at which the number of individuals in a population increases in one year as a fraction of the initial population is called ‘annual growth rate of population’. The annual growth rate is affected by the birth rate in the following ways :
- With the increase in birth rate, the annual growth rate generally increases.
- For a larger population with even a lower birth rate, the annual growth rate keeps on increasing. For example, since 1981 the birth rates declined rapidly. If we calculate annual growth rate based on these data, it becomes very high, but due to declining death rates population growth was observed.