Demographic and health indicators across different income level countries 2002-2004

The table illustrates changes in population growth, average births per woman, and life expectancy at birth across high, middle, and low-income countries between 2002 and 2004.

Overall, low-income countries consistently recorded the highest population growth and birth rates but the lowest life expectancy, while high-income nations showed the opposite trend. Across all categories, life expectancy improved over the two-year period, whereas birth rates and population growth generally remained stable or declined slightly.

Regarding population dynamics, low-income countries experienced the most significant growth, falling from 2.0% in 2002 to 1.8% in 2004. Similarly, their average births per woman decreased from 3.9 to 3.7. In contrast, high-income countries maintained the lowest figures, with population growth dipping from 0.8% to 0.7% and births per woman remaining static at 1.7. Middle-income countries showed the most stability, with population growth holding steady at 0.9% and births per woman declining marginally from 2.2 to 2.1.

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth increased across all groups. High-income countries saw an improvement from 78.0 to 78.7 years. Middle-income countries reached 70.0 years in 2004 from 69.1, while low-income countries rose from 58.1 to 58.8 years, remaining the lowest among the three groups.