The map below is a collection of satellite images that illustrate a mosaic view of our world. Let’s look at some important information about the population of our world.

Image of a satellite view of earth.
Source: The World, Central Intelligence Agency.

Here are some statistics about the population of our world:

World Population
6,928,198,253 (July 2011 est.)

Age Structure
0-14 years: 26.3% (male 944,987,919/female 884,268,378)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 2,234,860,865/female 2,187,838,153)
65 years and over: 7.9% (male 227,164,176/female 289,048,221) (2011 est.)

Median Age
total: 28.4 years
male: 27.7 years
female: 29 years (2009 est.)

Population Growth Rate
1.092% (2011 est.)

Birth Rate
19.15 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Death Rate
8.12 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

Source: Central Intelligence Agency (as of 2011)

In this lesson you will explore the factors that impact the birth rate and death rate of different countries. You will look at the definitions of these two terms and find out why the rates vary so much from country to country.

Scroll over the terms below to learn more about birth rates and death rates.

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. View the factors below to see their impact on the birth rate and death rate of a country.

Now continue through the lesson to understand WHY these changes occur.

Sources of images used for this section as they appear, in order:

Clean Water Act Section 404, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Bloods and Vaccines, U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
School Room, Rob Shenk, Flickr.
 

Need a reminder of the definition of BIRTH RATE?

As you saw in the previous activity, the birth rate of a country can vary widely depending on many different factors. We will now explore a little more about the factors that influence birth rates.

The birth rate is calculated by taking the total number of live births in a year, dividing it by the total population and multiplying the result by 1000.

For example, in 2009, there were 4,245,671 live births in the United States. The estimated population of the United States in 2009 was 307,212,123 people. If we put this into the birth rate equation, it looks like this:

equation shows 4,245,671 over 307,212,123 times 1000 equals 13.82

 

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. Activity

Visit this website to see a map of the world indicating the birth rates of each country below. Move your mouse over a country on the map to see the name of the country and its birth rate.

 Record the birth rates of the following countries:

  • United States
  • Mexico
  • United Kingdom
  • China
  • Sudan
Check Your Answers Note: The birth rates will change over time for each country. Close

Which of the following continents has the highest birth rate?

  • North America
    Incorrect. The countries of North America have significantly lower birth rates than that of Africa and South Asia. Close
  • Asia
    Incorrect, although the countries of South Asia have higher birth rates than that of Europe and North America, the continent as a whole does not have a high birth rate average. Close
  • Europe
    Incorrect, in fact, European countries have some of the lowest birth rates in the world. Close
  • Africa
    Correct! You will notice that the majority of the countries in Africa have birth rates above 30%. Close

Why do you think that is? What is it about the countries in Africa that make their birth rates so high compared to the rest of the world?

Let's explore the different factors that contribute to the birth rate. Click on each picture below:

education services money

Sources of images used for this section as they appear, left to right:

School Room, Rob Shenk, Flickr.
Civil War Ambulance, Muffet, Flickr.
Money, AMcGill, Flickr.
 

Need a reminder of the definition of DEATH RATE?

The death rate of a country is calculated in the same way as the birth rate. Death rates are influenced by the same factors as birth rates are but for different reasons. Typically, the death rate will fall with an increase in education. This is because a population that is more educated tends to also be more advanced in terms of health care, technology and access to services such as clean water and sanitation. All of these things make it so that people live much longer than generations past.

Death rates can also fluctuate with catastrophes such as famine, war, and flooding. The death rate is also greatly affected by the size of the aging population. If the population of citizens over the age of 70 is small, this may cause the death rate to be smaller for that particular year. However, in countries with smaller birth rates, the aging population may be larger, thus resulting in a larger death rate.

 

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. Activity

Visit this website to see a map of the world indicating the death rates of each country below. Move your mouse over a country on the map to see the name of the country and its death rate.

 Record the death rates of the following countries:

  • United States
  • Mexico
  • United Kingdom
  • China
  • Sudan

Check your answers. Note: The death rates will change over time for each country. Close