Among the findings:

• In hotspot countries, the annual rate of growth in the number of households 3.1 percent was substantially higher than the population growth rate 1.8 percent between 1985 and 2000. More than 80 percent of hotspot countries showed this pattern.

• The difference in household size between hotspot and non-hotspot countries is decreasing with households in hotspot countries getting smaller faster. In 1985, the average household size was 4.7 in hotspot countries and 3.7 in non-hotspot countries. By 2015, the average household size in hotspot countries is expected to be 3.4 persons. In non-hotspot countries, it is expected to be 3.6 persons.

• Even in regions where population size decreased, the number of households still increased substantially due to a reduction in average household size.

The six areas with biodiversity hotspots analyzed were Florida, Brazil, Rodrigues (Africa), New Zealand, Italy and Wolong, China.

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Contact: Jack Liu
jliu@panda.msu.edu
517-355-1810
Michigan State University
12-Jan-2003