The im por tance of even small in creases in per cap - ita con sump tion is com pounded by rap idly in creas- ing popu la tions in many de vel op ing re gions. On average, popu la tion in de vel op ing coun tries grew by per cent per year be tween 1970 and 1995 (Table 4). The popu la tion in Sub- Saharan Af rica grew the most—al most 3 per cent per year dur ing the pe riod. Rapid popu la tion growth cou pled with in creased per cap ita con sump tion re sulted in dra .