1. Birth and Death Rates, Worldwide
Rates of birth, death, and natural increase per 1,000 population
Natural Increase
Birth rates and death rates are declining around the world. Overall economic development, public health programs, and improvements in food production and distribution, water, and sanitation have led to dramatic declines in death rates. And women now have fewer children than they did in the 1950s.
Nevertheless, if death rates are lower than birth rates, populations will still grow.
Also, it is possible for absolute numbers of births to increase even when birth rates decline.
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision, 2005.