Mack posted:

"I know nothing about statistics, but what significance does the
relatively small population growth rate have where the sampling period
is so small (at the end of 1371)?"

This is not small. A 2.7 per cent annual population growth rate implies
a doubling in 69/2.7 \approx 25 years. Can you imagine that? Most people
seem not able to, and that is why so many deny that this problem exists,
for me most especially in the industrialised countries (low growth rates,
but large environmental impact). Iran's high growth rate threatens things
like accelerated desertification due to intensive agriculture, deforestation,
and water table drop. Similar to what is going on in California (this year's
rain won't save you in Stanford!). This is probably more to blame than 
the current government's incompetence for dropping living standards
in Iran.