What does natural increase indicate?

Natural increase is defined as the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths in a population over a specific period of time. It is an important demographic measure as it provides insight into how a population is growing or shrinking based on these two factors. When the birthrate exceeds the death rate, this results in a natural increase, indicating that the population is growing. Conversely, if the death rate surpasses the birthrate, it can lead to a natural decrease.

This measure does not suggest stable population numbers, as those would reflect a balance between births and deaths rather than a difference; nor does it indicate a higher death rate than birthrate, since that would lead to a decrease in population. Additionally, natural increase does not directly correlate with changes in population density, which is influenced by the distribution and size of the population within a given area rather than just the increase or decrease itself. Therefore, natural increase specifically refers to the differential aspect of births and deaths, making the reference to it being the difference between birthrate and deathrate the accurate choice.