Question

The population of the world in 1987 was 5 billion and the annual growth rate was estimated at 2 percent per year. Assuming that the world population follows an exponential growth model, find the projected world population in 2015

Answer 1

The projected world population in 2015 was 8,705,121,030 people.

Explanation:

Given that the population of the world in 1987 was 5 billion and the annual growth rate was estimated at 2 percent per year, assuming that the world population follows an exponential growth model, to find the projected world population in 2015 the following calculation must be performed :

5,000,000,000 x 1.02 ^ (2015-1987) = X

5,000,000,000 x 1.02 ^ 28 = X

5,000,000,000 x 1.741024 = X

8,705,121,030 = X

Therefore, the projected world population in 2015 was 8,705,121,030 people.