Answer
The growth rate has slowed, but since this type of population growth is an exponential function we continue to see an overall growth in population size.
Work Step by Step
Look back to section 53.2. Even though the rate of growth declines, overall growth continues due to the increasing base population on which the growth rate is applied. The rate drops, but growth continues.
Specifically, the global human growth rate was 2.2% in 1962 but dropped to 1.1% in 2011 (see page 1202). It is anticipated to continue to drop down to 0.5% by 2050. While we currently add about 75 million people to the population every year at around that 1.1% rate, that projection shows an additional 45 million people per year in 2050.
