The document discusses factors that affect population growth rates, including health, education, social provision, cultural factors, political factors, and environmental factors. It describes how population data is collected through censuses conducted every 10 years in countries like the UK. Censuses provide important data for governments and businesses to plan infrastructure, services, and marketing based on the characteristics of the population. However, censuses also face challenges like infringing on privacy, unreturned forms, and being difficult to conduct in some areas.