What is the population of the country in the year 2014 (in million) ?
2018

What is the population of the country in the year 2014 (in million) ?
Answer: D. 2.79 — Concept. Per capita consumption tells how much of a commodity each person uses, so it is the total domestic consumption divided by the population. Turning…
- A.
2.85
- B.
2.64
- C.
2.72
- D.
2.79
Attempted by 38 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept. Per capita consumption tells how much of a commodity each person uses, so it is the total domestic consumption divided by the population. Turning that around, Population = Total consumption ÷ Per capita consumption.
Concept. For a producing country, the quantity left at home is what it grows minus what it sends abroad, so Consumption = Production − Exports. Units matter: consumption expressed in million kg divided by a per capita figure in kg yields a population in millions.
Application. Apply the two relations to the 2014 row of the table:
Read the 2014 row: Production = 238 million kg, Exports = 130 million kg, Per capita consumption = 38.7 kg.
Domestic consumption = Production − Exports = 238 − 130 = 108 million kg.
Population = Consumption ÷ Per capita consumption = 108 ÷ 38.7 (million kg ÷ kg gives millions of people).
108 ÷ 38.7 = 2.7907… , which to two decimal places is 2.79 million.
Cross-check. Multiply back: 2.79 × 38.7 = 107.97 million kg, which rounds to the 108 million kg of rice retained after exports, so the figure is consistent.
Contrast. Dividing production alone by the per capita figure (238 ÷ 38.7 = 6.15) ignores the exported rice and does not describe what the people of the country actually eat; using another year’s production or per capita value mixes rows and breaks the relation. The population for 2014 is 2.79 million.