"Shrinking faster than any other nation's" needs to modify japanese population
A is out

"Shrinking faster than any other nation" -> population should shrink. Not the country.
B is out.

"It" doesnt have clear antecedent in D.

E looked awkward. I do not know th exact error here. I believe "decline at" is wrong.

pick C

IMO C for correct comparison.

gmat_perfect wrote:Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is 17 percent during the next half century.

(A) Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is
(B) Shrinking faster than any other nation, Japan's population has a projected decline of
(C) The population of Japan is shrinking faster than that of any other nation and is projected to decline by
(D) The Japanese population is shrinking faster than any other nation, and it has a projected decline at
(E) Japan's population is shrinking faster than that of any other nation, with a projected decline at

[spoiler]OA: C[/spoiler]

I picked E and got it wrong.
Could someone clarify, what is wrong with - "with a projected decline at". Is it not idiomatic ??
or should we always use - X is projected to decline

sumanr84 wrote:

gmat_perfect wrote:Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is 17 percent during the next half century.

(A) Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is
(B) Shrinking faster than any other nation, Japan's population has a projected decline of
(C) The population of Japan is shrinking faster than that of any other nation and is projected to decline by
(D) The Japanese population is shrinking faster than any other nation, and it has a projected decline at
(E) Japan's population is shrinking faster than that of any other nation, with a projected decline at

[spoiler]OA: C[/spoiler]

I picked E and got it wrong.
Could someone clarify, what is wrong with - "with a projected decline at". Is it not idiomatic ??
or should we always use - X is projected to decline

that refers to Japan's population. That is why E is wrong.

That should not be a problem. As the rule says,we can always use "that of Y" in parallel to either
1. Another OF construction i.e. "NOUN of X"
2. Another possessive construction i.e "X's NOUN"

No that is not correct. That kind of comparison is accepted. Actually 'with a projected decline at' is adverbial modifier, which is modifying shriking. Therefore, E is wrong. For more information https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/shr ... t3758.html

adi_800 wrote:

sumanr84 wrote:

gmat_perfect wrote:Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is 17 percent during the next half century.

(A) Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is
(B) Shrinking faster than any other nation, Japan's population has a projected decline of
(C) The population of Japan is shrinking faster than that of any other nation and is projected to decline by
(D) The Japanese population is shrinking faster than any other nation, and it has a projected decline at
(E) Japan's population is shrinking faster than that of any other nation, with a projected decline at

[spoiler]OA: C[/spoiler]

I picked E and got it wrong.
Could someone clarify, what is wrong with - "with a projected decline at". Is it not idiomatic ??
or should we always use - X is projected to decline

that refers to Japan's population. That is why E is wrong.

Sumanr84 is correct that the correct idiom is project to and thats exactly what C does.

(C) The population of Japan is shrinking faster than that of any other nation and is projected to decline by .

sumanr84 wrote:That should not be a problem. As the rule says,we can always use "that of Y" in parallel to either
1. Another OF construction i.e. "NOUN of X"
2. Another possessive construction i.e "X's NOUN"

Yep the rules are perfect. That as a modifier is not a problem.

The big problem I see with E is "declined at". Though not heard of a IDIOM, but lets see what it means.

Japanese population declined by 17% -->Meaning: Japanese population is declined and reached 83% of it was earlier.

Same sentence if used with at:

Japanese population declined at 17% -->Meaning: (something horribly wrong with japanese..lol) i.e. population declined by 83% and reached 17%, a meaning not intended by author.

Moreover construction using 'with' are very less preferable in GMAT and here we have a better option.

Nice explanation by loveusonu..

gmat_perfect wrote:Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is 17 percent during the next half century.

(A) Shrinking faster than any other nation's, the projected decline of Japan's population is
(B) Shrinking faster than any other nation, Japan's population has a projected decline of
(C) The population of Japan is shrinking faster than that of any other nation and is projected to decline by
(D) The Japanese population is shrinking faster than any other nation, and it has a projected decline at
(E) Japan's population is shrinking faster than that of any other nation, with a projected decline at

[spoiler]OA: C[/spoiler]

I find C is the best choice here.

But the noun population of Japan is wordy....better if it would have been ....Japan`s population

its a good question of comparison and idiom

decline of /decline at is incorrect hence B/D/E out

A and B in correctly comparing the population with nation

only C is doing right comparison and having correct idiom decline by..