How the rate of natural increase (births minus deaths) and the net migration rate combine differently across countries.
Population change reflects two components: natural increase and migration.
Each dot represents a country. The horizontal axis shows the rate of natural increase — the birth rate minus the death rate, expressed as a percent of the population. The vertical axis shows the net migration rate — the difference between people entering and leaving, expressed per 1,000 population.
Because the two axes use different units, a country's position on one axis is not directly comparable in size to its position on the other — they describe two distinct components of population change, each measured its own way.
Some countries show relatively high natural increase alongside net migration close to zero.
Somalia, Uganda, and Ethiopia all have a natural increase rate of 2.5% or higher. Their net migration rates are close to zero: 3, -3, and 0 per 1,000 population, respectively. For these countries, the birth rate minus the death rate is relatively high, and net migration is at or near zero.
Other countries show a different combination — and some combine both.
Singapore, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates have net migration rates of 28 or more per 1,000 population alongside relatively low natural increase. Chad, by contrast, has both a relatively high natural increase rate (3.1%) and a relatively high net migration rate (26 per 1,000). Across countries, natural increase and net migration combine in many different ways, not just two.