Answer:
The growth rate is a measure of the average increase or decrease of the population in a given period of years, as a result of the game of external migratory movements, births and deaths (not to be confused with the birth rate).
The decrease in the growth rate does not mean that the population of a given territory has decreased. It can mean that the population is growing at a slower pace than before. A negative growth rate, on the other hand, indicates that an area is losing population.
Increase (or decrease) of the population per year in a given period due to natural increase and net migration, expressed as a percentage of the population of the initial or base year.
The measure refers to an intercensal variation. The rates, for each geographical-administrative unit (country, province and canton), are calculated based on the following formula:
Nt 1
r = ln ---- x ---- x 100
No t
where:
r = annual average growth rate
ln = natural logarithm
Nt = population in year t
No = population in the base year
t = time in years
