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Population Growth

Population Growth

Definition : Population growth is defined as the increase in. the number of human inhabitants of a given place.

There are the main components of population growth. .
(i) Fertility (ii) Mortality (iii) Mobility (migration);

Dynamics of Population Growth While the facts of birth and death at an individual level are dear, their effect on the growth and decline of a population (that is, a collection of individuals) is more opaque. Here we look at the process which shape population growth and the kind of yardsticks we use to measure it. In this chapter we shall be concerned mainly with the human population. Much of the reasoning we shall use could, however, be applied to animal populations as well

Births, Deaths, and Growth: The total population of any area of the earth’s surface- represents a balance between two forces. One is natural change caused by the difference between the number of births and deaths. If births are more numerous than deaths in any period, the total population will increase. If they are less numerous, it will decrease. This simple relationship is modified by a second force; migration. When immigrants are more -numerous than emigrants, There Will be a population increase. (This assumes, of course, that we are ignoring natural change for the moment). When emigrants are more numerous, there will be a population decline.
As figure -7-1 shows, net changes in population totals are caused by the interaction of four elements: Births and immigrants tend to push the total up : deaths and emigrants tend to bring the total down. Although migration-may be the most important factor in small areas (for example, in a small village or a city block), it is less significant on the national level. For the world as a whole, migration is irrelevant because all movements take place within the limits of the recording area. In other words, until interplanetary travel comes along, the planet Earth can be safely treated as - a...