Answer:
Population 20 years ago ≈ 347,826 thousand
Step by step solved:
To find the population of Wills Town 20 years ago, we can use the following steps:
Calculate the total decrease in the population over 20 years:
Decrease = 8% of 320,000 thousand = 0.08 x 320,000 thousand = 25,600 thousand
Calculate the current population after the decrease:
Current population = 320,000 thousand - 25,600 thousand = 294,400 thousand
Calculate the population 20 years ago:
Population 20 years ago = Current population / (1 - Decrease rate)
Population 20 years ago = 294,400 thousand / (1 - 0.08) = 320,000 thousand / 0.92
Population 20 years ago ≈ 347,826 thousand
Therefore, the population of Wills Town 20 years ago was approximately 347,826 thousand