Geographical Analysis of Population Growth Trends of Al-Anbar Province Population and its Future Prospects for the Period (1947 - 2007)

The research aims to reveal population growth trends for the population of Anbar province. The importance of population growth is highlighted because it helps to know population changes in the past, present and future, which provide the planners with the necessary data to use in order to set general lines for planning programs in various areas of economic and social life, Therefore, population growth has become one of the phenomena emphasized by the population geographers. Thus, it addresses the natural characteristics of Al-Anbar Province, which are the ground upon which the phenomenon of population growth trends emerges for the population of Anbar province. It also detects some variables affecting the variance of the population growth of the province population and its analysis temporally through identifying the methods of measuring population growth rates. The study finds out that the natural characteristics played a major role in affecting the population characteristics, in addition to the decrease in the number of males versus the increase in females number. It also concludes that there is a continued growth of the population of the province with high growth rates and in a stable level during the study period. The study recommends to balance the population growth rates during the study period, and to educate families about the importance of registering child births immediately after giving birth to have more accurate and realistic data. It recommends too that the state’s population policy should be clear and announced in regard to reproduction in order to be consistent with the Iraqi society perspectives and the aspirations of the state.