(1) The “population growth rate” is the rate at which the number of individuals in a population increases in a given time period, expressed as a fraction of the initial population. Global human population growth amounts to around 75 million annually,or 1.1% per year. Generally,developed nations have seen a decline in their growth rates in recent decades, though annual growth rates remain above 2% in poverty-stricken countries of the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, and also in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.