population

Everyday

1. The number of people who live in a place. tree →
2. All the people, or all the animals or plants of one kind, living in an area: the bee population. tree →
3. (maths, formal) The whole group you are studying in statistics. tree →

In the lessons

In geography and maths lessons, populations of towns and countries are compared, rounded, added and put in order. In science, populations of animals grow or shrink. Phrases: population of, the world's population, population growth, a large population.

Examples

• The population of our town is about 12 000. tree →
• The world's population is over eight billion. tree →
• The bee population is falling. tree →
• London has a bigger population than Dublin. tree →
• Round the population to the nearest thousand. tree →
• A rabbit population can grow very fast. tree →
• Well, they spread the news through the village; the whole population assembled and swarmed into the graveyard. tree →

Note

Usually countable, but «the population» is often treated as one group. Maths: populations are big numbers to read, round, compare and subtract («how many more people live in A than B»). «Populated» means having people in it.