5.3 Population

Population means the total number of people living in a particular country at a given time.

Population growth refers to how much the size of that population changes over time — it can grow, shrink, or stay the same.

The birth rate is the number of live births per 1,000 people in a country per year.

• If more babies are being born, the population tends to grow.
• A higher birth rate = faster population growth.

The death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a country per year.

• If fewer people are dying, the population grows.
• A lower death rate = faster population growth.
• The difference between the birth rate and death rate gives us natural population change.
  • If births > deaths → population grows (natural increase).
  • If deaths > births → population shrinks (natural decrease).

Immigration means people moving into a country from another country.

Emigration means people moving out of a country to live somewhere else.

Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming in (immigrants) and the number going out (emigrants).

• If more people arrive than leave → positive net migration → population increases.
• If more people leave than arrive → negative net migration → population decreases.

Unexpected events can sharply reduce the population:

• Natural disasters (floods, earthquakes) cause sudden deaths and force people to flee.
• Diseases and epidemics raise the death rate quickly.
• Wars cause deaths among soldiers and civilians and push people to emigrate.

Countries better equipped to handle these events maintain larger, more stable populations.