This paper presents the use of fuzzy inference to provide a viable modeling and simulation methodology for the estimation of population growth in any country or region. The study is motivated by the classical complex and time-consuming growth modeling and prediction methods. The related design issues are presented and the fuzzy inference model for population growth is derived. The human social and economic factors which affect the growth and which underly the parameters used in the classical population projection methods are fuzzified. They are then used as inputs to a fuzzy population growth model based on fuzzy inferences so as the population growth rate is evaluated. The fuzzy population model is simulated using an existing CAD tool for fuzzy inference which has been developed and described elsewhere by the authors. The results obtained using different existing defuzzification strategies and a recently introduced one are compared with the actual population growth rates in some countries.

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[22] Zimmermann H. J., Fuzzy Set Theory and its Applications, Kluwer Academic Publications, 1991. Hassan Diab received his BSc (with Honors) in communications engineering in 1981, his MSc (with Distinction) in systems engineering in 1982, and his PhD in computer engineering from the University of Bath, UK, in 1985. He is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon. He has over 100 publications in internationally refereed journals and conferences. His research interests include cryptography on high performance computer systems, modeling and simulation of parallel processing systems, reconfigurable computing, simulation of parallel applications, system simulation using fuzzy logic control, and the application of simulation for 86 The International Arab Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 2005 engineering education. He is currently the associate editor of the Simulation Journal, Transactions of The Society for Modeling and Simulation International, USA. He received 13 international and regional awards including the Fulbright research award, and the 1992 Young Arab Scientists Shuman prize in Engineering. He is a Founding Member of the first Arab Computer Society established in 2001 as well as the Founding Member of the IEEE Student Branch at AUB in 1997. Professor Diab is a Fellow in the IEE and the IEAust, as well as a Senior Member of the IEEE. Jean Saade received the BSc degree in Physics from the Lebanese University, Lebanon, in 1979 with a scholarship to pursue graduate studies. He then received the MSc degree in electrical engineering in 1982 from Boston University, MA, USA, and a PhD degree, also in electrical engineering, from Syracuse University, NY, USA, in 1987. He taught for four years at Syracuse University during his PhD studies and served for one year as a visiting assistant professor at the same University after graduating. In 1988, he joined the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and is currently a professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His recent publications have been concerned with the development of fuzzy controllers modeling algorithms and learning schemes based on expert data. This is in addition to the development of novel defuzzification methods for fuzzy controllers. He has also received special invitation to present his research at high-level international conferences and VIP forums. He is a member of the International Fuzzy Systems Association (IFSA) and the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology (EUSFLAT).