Natural Increase - GCSE Geography Definition

Natural Increase refers to the growth of a population when the number of births is higher than the number of deaths over a certain period of time. It's calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births. If a country has more births than deaths, it will have a positive natural increase, meaning the population is growing. This concept is important in Geography because it helps us understand how populations change and what might happen in the future, like whether a country might need more schools or hospitals. Natural Increase doesn't account for people moving in or out of a country (migration); it only looks at births and deaths.