The president of the World Bank has asked you to calculate the average population growth rate of Hungary from 1970 to 2004.You know the population in 1970 was about 10.4 million and in 2004 about 10.1 million.The average growth rate is about:
A)0.09 percent.
B)-0.09 percent.
C)0.08 percent.
D)-63.0 percent.
E)36 percent.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The growth rate can be calculated using the formula:
[(final population - initial population)/initial population] * 100%
Substituting the given values,
[(10.1 million - 10.4 million)/10.4 million] * 100% = -2.88%
However, the question asks for average growth rate, which would be the growth rate per year averaged over the 34-year period from 1970 to 2004:
-2.88%/34 = -0.085%
Rounding off to two decimal places, the answer is -0.09% (option B) since population has decreased over the period.

The President of the World Bank Has Asked You to Calculate