Discover the dynamics of the population

The population of a municipality evolves over time.

Does the number of inhabitants in your municipality increase, decrease or does it remain the same over the years?

Have fun comparing the evolution curve of the population in your municipality with that of another municipality.
Are the populations in these two municipalities evolving in the same way?

Choose another geographical area to compare:

The size of a population in a given geographical area is influenced by the number of births, but also by the number of deaths. Births will have a positive impact on the population size, while deaths will have a negative impact.

The natural balance of the population evolves over time.

The number of births and deaths are never the same from one year to the other: in some years, there are more births than deaths, or vice versa.

Does the natural balance evolve in the same way in the two geographical areas?  The number of births and deaths are never the same from one year to the other and can vary from one municipality to another.

Choose another geographical area to compare:

The size of the population in a given geographical area is influenced by the number of people who come to live there (moving in) and by the number of people who leave to live somewhere else (moving out).

People moving in will have a positive impact on the population size, while people moving out will have a negative impact.

You have probably heard of immigrants and emigrants.

An immigrant is a person arriving in a geographical area to settle there: that person is moving in.

An emigrant is a person leaving a geographical area to settle somewhere else: that person is moving out.

The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants in a given reference period (often a year) is what we call the “migration balance”.

The migration balance of the population evolves over time.

The number of immigrants and emigrants are never the same from one year to the other: in some years, there are more immigrants than emigrants, or vice versa.

Does the migration balance evolve in the same way in the two municipalities?

The number of immigrants and emigrants are never the same from one year to the other and can vary from one municipality to another.

Choose another geographical area to compare:

Births and immigrants (people moving in) increase the size of the population.

Deaths and emigrants (people moving out) decrease the size of the population.

If we compare both quantities, we can know whether the size of a population increases, decreases or remains stable.

Births + Immigrants > Deaths + Emigrants: Population growth.

Births + Immigrants = Deaths + Emigrants: Demographic stagnation.

Births + Immigrants < Deaths + Emigrants: Demographic decline.

To know if residents have been added to or disappeared from the population between two dates, you need to:

1. Add the number of births and the number of immigrants to obtain the first term
2. Add the number of deaths and the number of emigrants to obtain the second term

3. Calculate the difference between the term obtained in 1° and the term obtained in 2°

The (absolute) frequency is the number of times the first name was given during the reference period in a given geographical area.

The mode is the first name with the highest frequency. This is the first name that is number 1 in the ranking.

The frequency of first names given at birth can be very different from one municipality to another.

Compare the tables. What are the modes of the various distributions? In your opinion, what are the factors that could explain these differences?