What does “population” mean?

The term population means the total number of people who live in a place at a particular time. Look at the map of St. Lucia below. Do you know how many people live there?

^{Image by Doviende and used under thie creative commons license.}

We can look at the population of a small community like Bouton which is found in the district of Soufriere, in St. lucia. In 2010, the population of Bouton was 137 people. In 2022, the population of Bouton was 114 people. What happened to the population of Bouton between 2010 and 2022? Did it grow larger or did it get smaller?

We can look at the population of a larger area such as the district of Soufriere in St. Lucia. In 2010, the population of Soufriere was 8,472 people. By 2022, the population was 8,322. What can we say about the population of Soufriere between 2010 and 2022?

We can look at the population of a country such as St. Lucia. In 2010, the population of St. Lucia was 156, 526 people. On October 27, 2024, the population of St. Lucia was estimated to be 179,875 people. What happened to the population of St. Lucia between 2010 and 2024? 

We can see from the examples above that the population of a place can change over time. It may grow larger or get smaller.

Fun fact: In order to find out the population of a country, the government of that country carries out a census. During a census go to every home and count every person in the country. They also find out other important information as well such as their ages. This information is used to make important decisions such as where to build new schools, roads or hospitals.