Given the rapid inflation that took place sometimes over the
past few decades, you might be aware that if a report said a
certain monetary figure was up 10% during one decade, it was
prudent to check to see if the figures took the inflationary
trends into account to tell you the actual value a figure in
one year might represent would actually be less than figures
which counted more value in lesser numbers of dollars in the
previous decade.
Thus you would be wise to consult a table of Price Indices--
such as the file "price10.txt" released in 1993, before your
evaluation of such figures is complete.
The same is true of population figures, which are going up a
certain amount every year, in a very similar manner to those
price index figures, only not quite as fast, in most cases.