Reinterpreting the Carrying Capacity in the Logistic Model for Human Populations

The study of human population dynamics at a country level is a critical topic. Understanding population trends in a given country can be highly valuable for designing policies related to birth control, economy, urban planning, among others. In this work, we analyze data from eight countries whose population growth tends to follow a logistic pattern over time. In particular, we focus on the carrying capacity parameter, and observe how this value can change its interpretation. We define a socio-economic asymptotic value, and claim that this value plays the role of a socio-economic carrying capacity in some of the countries under study. Each country within this study present different socioeconomic conditions, densities and population size. However, the sigmoidal growth seems to be present in all of them. This work invites the community to think different about the traditional carrying capacity definition.