The president of the World Bank has asked you to calculate the average population growth rate of Nigeria from 1960 to 2010. You know the population in 1960 was about 42 million and in 2010 was about 152 million. The average growth rate is about ________ percent.
A) 16.4
B) 0.9
C) 0.0
D) -4.1
E) 2.6

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate average population growth rate, we can use the formula:

Average growth rate = (final population / initial population)^(1/number of years) - 1

Here, the initial population in 1960 was 42 million and the final population in 2010 was 152 million. The number of years between 1960 and 2010 is 50.

Plugging in these values, we get:

Average growth rate = (152/42)^(1/50) - 1 = 0.0261 or 2.6%

Therefore, the correct answer is E) 2.6.

The President of the World Bank Has Asked You to Calculate