I was recently listening to Tell Me Something I Don’t Know, a podcast hosted by economist and writer Stephen Dubner. One of the guests talked about immigration and its relationship to population growth, which got me thinking – how do economists, data scientists, and others forecast future populations?
An article from Pew Research breaks it down nicely into four factors:
- Fertility rates (how many babies are being born at a given time)
- Mortality rates (how many people are dying at a given time)
- Age profiles (how many and at what age are people currently)
- Migration (how many people have moved into or out of the area you are predicting population for)
Below are a series of maps looking at these four factors. What do these maps tell you about the future of this area? What other indicators could play a role in population change in a given area? Hit us up with your thoughts in the comments section below!
Click the map to zoom to your area.
Click the map to zoom to your area
Click the map to zoom to your area.
Click the map to zoom to your area.
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