Explore the Text Exercises with Answers

1. Read and study the text and the definition of population growth rate and answer the following questions.

1. What does population growth rate measure? [Population growth rate (PGR) is the increase in a country’s population during a period of time, usually one year, expressed as a percentage of the population at the start of that period. It reflects the number of births and deaths during a period and the number of people migrating to and from a country.]
2. If you wanted to get an accurate picture of population growth trends in a country, would you look at the average annual growth rate for a single year, or for a period of years? [a period of years] Explain why. [Looking at growth rates over a period of years helps to counteract any uncommon short term events that might give an inaccurate picture of population trends. For example an epidemic, famine, or war could cause a significant drop in PGR one year, but the change would not be due to any long term shift in people’s behavior, and therefore would not be as pronounced if looked at over a 10 or 15 year period.]  

2. Answer each of the following questions briefly, referring back to the text if necessary.

1. Why have death rates and birth rates declined? [Death rates have declined largely because people have more access to better health care and better nutrition. Birth rates have declined because parents are more confident that their children will live to adulthood; more people have access to family planning; and more girls are receiving basic educations, and are choosing to start their families later in life and to have fewer, healthier children.]
2. What causes population momentum? What are its consequences? [Population momentum occurs when a population consists of a large number of young people who are at childbearing ages. Because of their sheer numbers, and because they are having children, population in these countries continues to rise, even if they are reproducing at replacement fertility levels. As a consequence, population momentum does not allow the full effect of a lower PGR to be felt for several decades. The resulting larger population imposes additional demands on a country’s social services, economy, and environment.]
3. How might increasing urbanization affect environmental conditions in a country? [Increased urbanization can result in increased consumption of natural resources such as trees for lumber and fresh drinking water; more pollution which can affect air and water quality and can have a negative effect on health conditions, wildlife, and vegetation; more "crowding"; and fewer "green spaces".]
4. To what extent does migration between your country and others, or from rural to urban areas within your country affect your country’s economic, environmental, or social situation? [Answers will vary.]
5. What sorts of services and support can a government provide to its citizens that will help slow the population growth rate? Explain why you think these strategies may help. [Governments can increase education, especially for girls; offer better family planning services to more people; provide medical insurance, pension plans, and social security; improve health care and decrease infant mortality; and increase people's awareness of problems of rapidly growing populations.]
6. What might be some reasons why women with a basic education tend to have fewer children? [They may be more aware of family planning options; they have have probably learned about health, hygiene, and good nutrition, so more of their children survive; and they are better qualified to work outside the home and earn money, so they have more options in life and may choose to start families later and have fewer children.]

3. Calculate the annual population growth rate for countries A, B, and C using data provided in the table below and this formula: ^*