Question

Why is knowledge about population growth important

Answer 1

Explaining the evolution of human life history traits remains an important challenge for evolutionary anthropologists. Progress is hindered by a poor appreciation of how demographic factors affect the action of natural selection. I review life history theory showing that the quantity maximized by selection depends on whether and how population growth is regulated. I show that the common use of R, a strategy’s expected lifetime number of offspring, as a fitness maximand is only appropriate under a strict set of conditions, which are apparently unappreciated by anthropologists. To concretely show how demography-free life history theory can lead to errors, I reanalyze an influential model of human life history evolution, which investigated the coevolution of a long lifespan and late age of maturity. I show that the model’s conclusions do not hold under simple changes to the implicitly assumed mechanism of density dependence, even when stated assumptions remain unchanged. This analysis suggests that progress in human life history theory requires better understanding of the demography of our ancestors.

Answer 2

Knowledge about population growth is important especially for a populous country like India because
1.The development of a country is determined by its population in relation to the available resources. So it is important to know about the population growth of a country.

2.It helps in resource planning. It gives the government an idea about the requirements of health and educational facilities within the country.

3.Economic development of a country is also influenced by population growth. In developed countries population growth is lower, therefore they enjoy a better standard of living. While in developing countries with high population growth, the growing population becomes a burden 
for the country, affecting physical and social environment. So, assumption of population estimate becomes essential.