Question

0.5 of 4 In 2012, the population of a country was 294 million and the growth rate was 0.6%. If the growth rate remains the same, in what year will the population be double what it was in 2012?

Answer 1

To find when the population will double from 294 million in 2012 at a growth rate of 0.6%, we use the rule of 70 to calculate the doubling time as 117 years, which means the population will double by the year 2129.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine in what year the population of a country will double, given a consistent growth rate, we can use the rule of 70, also known as the doubling time formula. According to the rule of 70, we divide 70 by the annual growth rate to estimate the number of years it will take for the population to double.

In this case, the growth rate is 0.6%. So, the doubling time in years can be calculated as 70 / 0.6 = 116.67 years. Since we want a whole number for the year, we round 116.67 to 117 years. The population will therefore double in approximately 117 years.

Given that the initial year is 2012, we can now add the doubling time to this year: 2012 + 117 = 2129. Therefore, if the growth rate remains at 0.6%, the population will double by the year 2129.