ABSTRACT
The simplest type of projection is to continue the past growth of the total population. Moreover, much of demographic analysis and theorizing pertains not merely to the population today but also, and often mainly, to the one people can expect tomorrow. In virtually all projections made today, the total population is not extrapolated as such but is rather divided first into its component parts, which are projected separately and reassembled at successive future dates. "The living world provides endless inspiration for the design of synthetic materials with sophisticated structures and functions." In most instances, whatever the faults of projections in general, one made of the population of a developed country represents the best prospect for a more or less accurate future figure. With the new mathematics associated with what has been termed chaos, it may be possible to do better.
