Population refers to the total number of people inhabiting an area, a region or a country .

It
is these people , who use resources of a Nation , produce goods and services , help to
develop it's economy and society and create the social and cultural environment . In this
way , people themselves act like an important resource of a country , known as the human
resource . Thus , population forms the center around which all the other elements revolve .
It acts as a reference point for studying various aspects of a Nation like it's economic growth
and development, health care , literacy and standard of living of people.

Population is a dynamic phenomenon . The numbers, distribution and composition of the

population are constantly changing. Population dynamics is the branch of science that
focuses on the changes in the size and age composition of populations and tries to find out
how , when and why these changes occur .

The five key properties of a population are :

1. Spatial distribution
2. Size and density
3. Age structure
4. Birth rate ( Natality )
5. Death rate ( Mortality )