population growth problems with solutions essay

Overpopulation: Cause and Effect

Conversations about overpopulation can quickly become controversial because they beg the question: Who exactly is the cause of the problem and what, if anything, should be done about it? Many population experts worry discussions around overpopulation will be abused by small-minded people to suggest some are the “right people” to be on the planet (like themselves), and some people are “the wrong people” (usually people in poverty, people of color, foreigners, and so on—you get the drift). But there are no “right” or “wrong” people on the planet, and discussing the problems of global overpopulation can never be an excuse, or in any way provide a platform, for having that type of conversation.

Each human being has a legitimate claim on a sufficient and fair amount of Earth’s resources. But with a population approaching 8 billion, even if everyone adopted a relatively low material standard of living like the one currently found in Papua New Guinea , it would still push Earth to its ecological breaking point. Unfortunately, the “average person” on Earth consumes at a rate over 50% above a sustainable level. Incredibly, the average person in the United States uses almost five times more than the sustainable yield of the planet.

When we use the term “overpopulation,” we specifically mean a situation in which the Earth cannot regenerate the resources used by the world’s population each year. Experts say this has been the case every year since 1970, with each successive year becoming more and more damaging. To help temper this wildly unsustainable situation, we need to understand what’s contributing to overpopulation and overconsumption and how these trends are affecting everything from climate change to sociopolitical unrest.

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The causes of overpopulation.

Today the Earth is home to over 8 billion people. By 2100 the population is on track to hit 10.8 billion , according to the United Nations — and that’s assuming steady fertility declines in many countries. Interestingly, if extra progress is made in women’s reproductive self-determination, and fertility falls more than the United Nations assumes is likely, the population in 2100 might be a relatively smaller 7.3 billion.

For now, the world’s population is still increasing in huge annual increments (about 80 million per year), and our supply of vital non-renewable resources are being exhausted. Many factors contribute to these unsustainable trends , including falling mortality rates, underutilized contraception, and a lack of education for girls.

Falling Mortality Rate

The primary (and perhaps most obvious) cause of population growth is an imbalance between births and deaths. The infant mortality rate has decreased globally, with 4.1 million infant deaths in 2017 compared to 8.8 million in 1990, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is welcome public health news, of course.

At the same time, lifespans are increasing around the world. Those of us who are alive today will likely live much longer than most of our ancestors. Global average life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900 , thanks to advancements in medicine, technology, and general hygiene. Falling mortality rates are certainly nothing to complain about either, but widespread longevity does contribute to the mathematics of increasing population numbers.

Underutilized Contraception 

The global fertility rate has fallen steadily over the years, down from an average of 5 children per woman in 1950 to 2.4 children per woman today, according to the UN Population Division . Along with that promising trend, contraceptive use has slowly but steadily increased globally, rising from 54% in 1990 to 57.4% in 2015. Yet, on the whole, contraceptive use is still underutilized. For example, according to the WHO, an estimated 214 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy are not using modern contraceptives.

These women aren’t using contraceptives for a variety of reasons, including social norms or religious beliefs that discourage birth control, misconceptions about adverse side effects, and a lack of agency for women to make decisions around sex and family planning. An estimated 44% of pregnancies were unintended worldwide between 2010-2014. Getting more women the access and agency to utilize family planning methods could go a long way in flattening the population curve.

Lack of Female Education    

Although female access to education has increased over the years, the gender gap remains. Roughly 130 million girls worldwide are out of school currently, and an estimated 15 million girls of primary school age will never   learn to read and write, compared with 10 million boys.

Increasing and encouraging education among women and girls can have a number of positive ripple effects, including delayed childbearing , healthier children, and an increase in workforce participation. Plenty of evidence suggests a negative correlation between female education and fertility rates.

If increased female education can delay or decrease fertility and provide girls with opportunities beyond an early marriage, it could also help to mitigate current population trends. 

The Effects of Overpopulation

It is only logical that an increase in the world’s population will cause additional strains on resources. More people means an increased demand for food, water, housing, energy, healthcare, transportation, and more. And all that consumption contributes to ecological degradation, increased conflicts, and a higher risk of large-scale disasters like pandemics.  

Ecological Degradation 

An increase in population will inevitably create pressures leading to more deforestation, decreased biodiversity, and spikes in pollution and emissions, which will exacerbate climate change . Ultimately, unless we take action to help minimize further population growth heading into the remainder of this century, many scientists believe the additional stress on the planet will lead to ecological disruption and collapse so severe it threatens the viability of life on Earth as we know it. 

Each spike in the global population has a measurable impact on the planet’s health. According to estimates in a study by Wynes and Nicholas (2017) , a family having one fewer child could reduce emissions by 58.6 tonnes CO2-equivalent per year in developed countries.

Increased Conflicts 

The scarcity brought about by environmental disruption and overpopulation has the potential to trigger an increase in violence and political unrest. We’re already seeing wars fought over water, land, and energy resources in the Middle East and other regions, and the turmoil is likely to increase as the global population grows even larger.

Higher Risk of Disasters and Pandemics 

Many of the recent novel pathogens that have devastated humans around the world, including COVID-19, Zika virus, Ebola, and West Nile virus, originated in animals or insects before passing to humans. Part of the reason the world is entering “ a period of increased outbreak activity ” is because humans are destroying wildlife habitats and coming into contact with wild animals on a more regular basis. Now that we’re in the midst of a pandemic, it has become clear how difficult it is to social distance in a world occupied by nearly 8 billion people.   

Discover the real causes and effects of overpopulation

What can be done about overpopulation.

When addressing overpopulation, it’s crucial to take an approach of providing empowerment while mobilizing against anybody advocating for the use of coercion or violence to solve our problems. The combined efforts of spreading knowledge about family planning, increasing agency among women , and debunking widely held myths about contraception will measurably change the trajectory of the world’s population.

As we carry out our work at Population Media Center (PMC), we see first-hand that spreading awareness about family planning methods and the ecological and economic benefits of having smaller families can change reproductive behavior. For example, listeners of our Burundian radio show Agashi (“Hey! Look Again!”) were 1.7 times more likely than non-listeners to confirm that they were willing to negotiate condom use with a sexual partner and 1.8 times more likely than non-listeners to say that they generally approve of family planning for limiting the number of children.

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY WITH CONVERSATIONS ON OVERPOPULATION

In the spirit of Earth Day, it’s crucial to approach discussions about overpopulation with sensitivity and inclusivity. Overpopulation conversations should focus on the collective responsibility to steward Earth’s resources sustainably, rather than assigning blame or dividing communities. By fostering understanding and promoting access to education and reproductive health services, we can work towards a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

At PMC we harness the power of storytelling to empower listeners to live healthier and more prosperous lives, which in turn contributes to stabilizing the global population so that people can live sustainably with the world’s renewable resources. Discover how PMC is taking action against overpopulation today!

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What lies ahead after the world’s population reaches 8 billion , how does overpopulation affect the economy, join us in promoting the equitable, sustainable world we’re all fighting for, one action at a time..

Although population growth in the 20th and 21st centuries has skyrocketed , it can be slowed, stopped and reversed through actions which enhance global justice and improve people’s lives. Under the United Nations’ most optimistic scenario, a sustainable reduction in global population could happen within decades.

We need to take many actions to reduce the impact of those of us already here – especially the richest of us who have the largest environmental impact – including through  reducing consumption   to sustainable levels, and systemic economic changes .

One of the most effective steps we can take to reduce our collective environmental impact is to choose smaller family size , and empower those who can’t make that choice freely to do so.

A little less makes a lot of difference

The United Nations makes a range of projections for future population growth, based on assumptions about how long people will live, what the fertility rate will be in different countries and how many people of childbearing age there will be. Its main population prediction is in the middle of that range – 9.7bn in 2050 and 10.4bn in 2100.

It also calculates that if, on average, every other family had one fewer child than it has assumed (i.e. ‘half a child less’ per family), there will be one billion fewer of us than it expects by 2050 – and about 3.5 billion fewer by the end of the century (within the lifetimes of many children born now). If that happens, our population will be smaller than it is today.

We can bring birth rates down

Many countries have had success in reducing their birth rates through policies which improved lives and empowered people. Our report Power to the People: how population policies work looks at some examples and the evidence that shows how different approaches work. Thailand, for instance, reduced its fertility rate (the average number of children per woman) by nearly 75% in just two generations with a targeted, creative and ethical population programme, which helped it to grow economically.  

In the last ten years alone, fertility rates in Asia have dropped by nearly 10%.

1) Empowering women and girls

Where women and girls are empowered to choose what happens to their bodies and lives, fertility rates plummet. Empowerment means freedom to pursue education and a career, economic independence, easy access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, and ending horrific injustices like child marriage and gender-based violence. Overall, advancing the rights of women and girls is one of the most powerful solutions to our greatest environmental and social crises. Solutions 2 and 3 below are both tightly linked with female empowerment.

2) Removing barriers to contraception

Nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended. Currently, more than 200 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using modern contraception . There are a variety of reasons for this, including lack of access, concerns about side-effects and social pressure (often from male partners) not to use it.

These women mostly live in some of the world’s poorest countries, where population is set to rise by 3 billion by 2100. Overseas aid support for family planning is essential – both ensuring levels are high enough and that delivery of service is effective and goes hand-in-hand with advancing gender equality and engaging men.

Across the world, some people choose not to use contraception because they are influenced by assumptions, practices and pressures within their nations or communities. In some places, very large family sizes are considered desirable; in others, the use of contraception is discouraged or forbidden.

Work with women and men to change attitudes towards contraception and family size has formed a key part of successful family planning programmes. Religious barriers may also be overturned or sidelined. In Iran in the 1980s, a very successful family planning campaign was initiated when the country’s religious leader declared the use of contraception was consistent with Islamic belief. In Europe, some predominantly Catholic countries such as Portugal and Italy have some of the lowest fertility rates.

3) Quality education for all

Ensuring every child receives a quality education is one of the most effective levers for sustainable development. Many kids in developing countries are out of school, with girls affected more than boys due to gender inequality. Education opens doors and provides disadvantaged kids and young people with a “way out”. There is a direct correlation between the number of years a woman spends in education and how many children she ends up having. According to one study , African women with no education have, on average, 5.4 children; women who have completed secondary school have 2.7 and those who have a college education have 2.2. When family sizes are smaller, that also empowers women to gain education, take work and improve their economic opportunities.

A UN survey showed that the more educated respondents were, the more likely they were to believe that there is a climate emergency. This means that higher levels of education lead to the election of politicians with stronger environmental policy agendas.

4) Global justice and sustainable economies

The UN projects that population growth over the next century will be driven by the world’s very poorest countries.  Escaping poverty  is not just a fundamental human right but a vital way to bring birth rates down. The solutions above all help to decrease poverty. International aid, fair trade and global justice are all tools to help bring global population back to sustainable levels. A more equal distribution of resources and transitioning away from our damaging growth-dependent economic systems are key to a better future for people and planet.

5) improving child and maternal health

Where children do not survive into adulthood, people tend to have larger families. Reducing infant and child mortality has been key to bringing birth rates down across the world. Family planning and gender equality helps to achive that, through allowing women to start having children when they are older and increase spacing between children. As family size goes down, that also allows greater investment in health services, especially in low income countries.

6) Exercising the choice

In high income countries, most of us have the power to choose the size of our families – although we may also face pressures of all kinds over the size of the families we choose to have. When making choices about that, it’s important to remember that people in the rich parts of the world have a disproportionate impact on the global environment through our high level of consumption and greenhouse gas emissions – in the UK, for instance, each individual produces 70 times more carbon dioxide emissions than someone from Niger. When we understand the implications for our environment and our children’s futures of a growing population, we can recognise that choosing smaller families is one positive choice we can make.

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People power not state power – population policies that work 

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• Population Growth Essay

Essay on Population Growth

One of the major problems the world is facing is the problem of the exponential growth of the population. This problem is the greatest one. Most countries in the world are showing a steep rise in population figures. The world’s resources are limited and so they cannot support a population beyond a certain limit. There has been news about the scarcity of food grains and the paucity of jobs mounting across the world. The number of human beings is multiplying at a steady rate. The world population has already crossed the six billion mark and it is expected to double in the next three or four decades. 

If the population continues to grow at this rate then the economy of the overpopulated countries will be unable to cope up with the growth of the population. Every attempt to bring peace, comfort and welfare to everybody’s door will be thwarted and misery will become prominent if the population is not kept within proper limits. Except for a few countries, all countries are facing a population boom. Currently, the largest populated country in the world is China and India is the second-largest populated country. India represents 17% of the world’s population. Other countries like Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia and some countries of Europe are threatened to be burst into the seams by population explosion.

Causes of Population Growth

The major cause of population growth is the decrease in death rate and rise in the life span of the average individual. Earlier, there was a balance between the birth and death rate due to limited medical facilities, people dying in wars, and other calamities. The rapid spread of education has made people health conscious. People have become aware of the basic causes of diseases and simple remedies for them.

Illiteracy is another cause of an increase in population. Low literacy rate leads to traditional, superstitious, and ignorant people. Educated people are well aware of birth control methods. 

Family planning, welfare programs, and policies have not fetched the desired result. The increase in population is putting tremendous pressure on the limited infrastructure and negating the progress of any country.

The superstitious people mainly from rural places think that having a male child would give them prosperity and so there is considerable pressure on the parents to produce children till a male child is born. This leads to population growth in underdeveloped countries like India, Bangladesh. 

Poverty is another main reason for this. Poor people believe that the more people in the family, the more will be the number of persons to earn bread. Hence it contributes to the increase in population. 

Continuous illegal migration of people from neighbouring countries leads to a rise in the population density in the countries. 

Religion sentiment is another cause of the population explosion. Some orthodox communities believe that any mandate or statutory method of prohibition is sacrilegious. 

Impact Due to Population 

The growth of the population has a major impact on the living standards of people. Overpopulation across the world may create more demand for freshwater supply and this has become a major issue because Earth has only 3% of freshwater. 

The natural resources of Earth are getting depleted because of the exponential growth of the population. These resources cannot be replenished so easily. If there is no check on the growth of population then there will be a day in the next few years when these natural resources will run out completely. 

There is a huge impact on the climatic conditions because of the growth of the population. Human activities are responsible for changing global temperature. 

Impact of Overpopulation on Earth’s Environment

The Earth's current population is almost 7.6 billion people, and it is expanding. It is expected to surpass 8 billion people by 2025, 9 billion by 2040, and 11 billion by 2100. The population is quickly increasing, far surpassing our planet's ability to maintain it, given existing habits.

Overpopulation is linked to a variety of detrimental environmental and economic consequences, including over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution, as well as eutrophication and global warming. Although many incredible things are being done to increase human sustainability on our planet, the problem of too many people has made long-term solutions more difficult to come across.

Overpopulation is mostly due to trends that began with a rise in birth rates in the mid-twentieth century. Migration can also result in overcrowding in certain areas. Surprisingly, an area's overcrowding may arise without a net increase in population. It can happen when a population with an export-oriented economy outgrows its carrying capacity and migratory patterns remain stable. "Demographic entrapment" has been coined to describe this situation.

Some Major Effects of the High Population are as Follows

The rapid growth of the population has caused major effects on our planet. 

The rapidly growing population in the world has led to the problem of food scarcity and heavy pressure on land resources. 

Generating employment opportunities in vastly populated countries is very difficult. 

The development of infrastructural facilities is not able to cope up with the pace of a growing population. So facilities like transportation, communication, housing, education, and healthcare are becoming inadequate to provide provision to the people. 

The increasing population leads to unequal distribution of income and inequalities among the people widened.

There will be a large proportion of unproductive consumers due to overpopulation. 

Economic development is bound to be slower in developing countries in which the population is growing at a very fast rate. This also leads to low capital formation. Overpopulation makes it difficult to implement policies. 

When there is rapid growth in a country then the government of that country is required to provide the minimum facilities for the people for their comfortable living. Hence, it has to increase housing, education, public health, communication and other facilities that will increase the cost of the social overheads.

Rapid population growth is also an indication of the wastage of natural resources. 

Preventive Measures

To tackle this problem, the government of developing countries needs to take corrective measures. The entire development of the country depends on how effectively the population explosion is stemmed. 

The government and various NGOs should raise awareness about family planning and welfare. Awareness about the use of contraceptive pills and family planning methods should be generated. 

The health care centres in developing and under-developed countries should help the poor people with the free distribution of contraceptives and encourage the control of the number of children. 

The governments of developing countries should come forward to empower women and improve the status of women and girls. People in rural places should be educated and modern amenities should be provided for recreation. 

Education plays a major role in controlling the population. People from developing countries should be educated so that they understand the implications of overpopulation.

Short Summarised Points On Population Growth

Based on the number of deaths and births, population growth might be positive or negative. 

If a country's birth rate outnumbers its death rate, the population grows, whereas more ends result in a drop.

There are 7.7 billion people on the earth, and India, with 1.3 billion people, is the second-most populous country after China.

Mumbai, the Bollywood capital, is India's most populous city, with a population of 12 billion people. Delhi, India's most populous city, comes in second with 11 billion inhabitants.

The advancement of knowledge in science, medicine, and technology has resulted in lower mortality and higher fertility, resulting in population rise.

Factors contributing to India's population expansion, such as mortality and fertility rates, child marriage, a lack of family planning, polygamy marriage, and so on, have wreaked havoc on the ecosystem.

Industrialization, deforestation, urbanisation, and unemployment have all been exacerbated by population expansion. These causes degrade our environment and contribute to societal health issues.

Pollution, global warming, climate change, natural catastrophes, and, most importantly, unemployment are all caused by the population.

To keep population increase under control, individuals must have access to education and be aware of the dangers of overpopulation.

The government must raise public awareness about illiteracy and educate individuals about the need for birth control and family planning.

Overpopulation may lead to many issues like depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution and degradation and loss of surroundings.  All countries must take immediate steps to control and manage human population growth.

FAQs on Population Growth Essay

1. What Do You Mean By Population Growth and How is it a Threat to the World?

Population growth refers to the rapid increase in the number of people in an area. It is a threat to the world because the world’s resources are limited and it cannot support a population beyond a certain limit.

2. What are the factors of Population Exponential Growth?

The factors for the exponential growth of the population are illegal migration from other countries, illiteracy, lack of awareness of contraceptive methods, poverty, lack of basic amenities, religious sentiments and superstitions. 

3. What steps should India take to reign in population growth?

Family planning and welfare must be made more widely known by the Indian government. Women and girls should be given more power. Free contraceptives should be distributed and people should be educated at health care centres. In schools and colleges, sex education should be required. Some more points to ponder are given below:

1. Social Actions

The minimum age for marriage is 18 years old.

Increasing women's status

Adoption of Social Security and the Spread of Education

2. Economic Interventions

Increased job opportunities

Providing financial incentives

3. Additional Measures

Medical Services

Legislative Initiatives

Recreational Resources

Increasing public awareness

4. What Impact Does Overpopulation Have on Our Planet?

Overpopulation is linked to a variety of detrimental environmental and economic consequences, including over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution, as well as eutrophication and global warming. Although many incredible things are being done to increase human sustainability on our planet, the problem of too many people has made long-term solutions more difficult to come across. Because of the exponential rise of the human population, the Earth's natural resources are depleting. Overpopulation has a significant impact on climatic conditions. The fluctuating global temperature is due to human activity.

5. What are the impacts on the population?

The influence of population expansion on people's living conditions is significant. Overpopulation around the world may increase demand for freshwater, which has become a big issue given that the Earth only possesses 3% freshwater. Because of the exponential rise of the human population, the Earth's natural resources are depleting. These materials are not easily replenished. If population growth is not slowed, these natural resources will run out altogether in the next several years. The population explosion has had a significant impact on climatic conditions. The fluctuating global temperature is due to global warming and needs to be regulated immediately as glaciers have already started melting and global temperature is rising at an alarming rate.

Understanding Global Change

Discover why the climate and environment changes, your place in the Earth system, and paths to a resilient future.

Population growth

Population growth is the increase in the number of humans on Earth. For most of human history our population size was relatively stable. But with innovation and industrialization, energy, food , water , and medical care became more available and reliable. Consequently, global human population rapidly increased, and continues to do so, with dramatic impacts on global climate and ecosystems. We will need technological and social innovation to help us support the world’s population as we adapt to and mitigate climate and environmental changes.

World human population growth from 10,000 BC to 2019 AD. Data from: The United Nations

Human population growth impacts the Earth system in a variety of ways, including:

• Increasing the extraction of resources from the environment. These resources include fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal), minerals, trees , water , and wildlife , especially in the oceans. The process of removing resources, in turn, often releases pollutants and waste that reduce air and water quality , and harm the health of humans and other species.
• Increasing the burning of fossil fuels for energy to generate electricity, and to power transportation (for example, cars and planes) and industrial processes.
• Increase in freshwater use for drinking, agriculture , recreation, and industrial processes. Freshwater is extracted from lakes, rivers, the ground, and man-made reservoirs.
• Increasing ecological impacts on environments. Forests and other habitats are disturbed or destroyed to construct urban areas including the construction of homes, businesses, and roads to accommodate growing populations. Additionally, as populations increase, more land is used for agricultural activities to grow crops and support livestock. This, in turn, can decrease species populations , geographic ranges , biodiversity , and alter interactions among organisms.
• Increasing fishing and hunting , which reduces species populations of the exploited species. Fishing and hunting can also indirectly increase numbers of species that are not fished or hunted if more resources become available for the species that remain in the ecosystem.
• Increasing the transport of invasive species , either intentionally or by accident, as people travel and import and export supplies. Urbanization also creates disturbed environments where invasive species often thrive and outcompete native species. For example, many invasive plant species thrive along strips of land next to roads and highways.
• The transmission of diseases . Humans living in densely populated areas can rapidly spread diseases within and among populations. Additionally, because transportation has become easier and more frequent, diseases can spread quickly to new regions.

Can you think of additional cause and effect relationships between human population growth and other parts of the Earth system?

Visit the burning of fossil fuels , agricultural activities , and urbanization pages to learn more about how processes and phenomena related to the size and distribution of human populations affect global climate and ecosystems.

Investigate

Learn more in these real-world examples, and challenge yourself to  construct a model  that explains the Earth system relationships.

• The Ecology of Human Populations: Thomas Malthus
• A Pleistocene Puzzle: Extinction in South America

Links to Learn More

• United Nations World Population Maps
• Scientific American: Does Population Growth Impact Climate Change?

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A Scientist’s Warning to humanity on human population growth

One needs only to peruse the daily news to be aware that humanity is on a dangerous and challenging trajectory. This essay explores the prospect of adopting a science-based framework for confronting these potentially adverse prospects. It explores a perspective based on relevant ecological and behavioral science. The objective is to involve concerned citizens of the world in this enterprise. The overall objective is to maintain Planet Earth as a favorable home for the future of humanity. Nine ecological principles explain one major aspect of what is happening and provide critical guidelines for appropriate action. Nine social behaviors explore how we might integrate social science insights with those from ecology. Twenty predictions are proposed based on these ecological and social science principles plus existing trends. If these trends are not vigorously and courageously confronted, we will likely be on track for the demise of our civilization. As we examine these challenges, our job will be especially complicated because a major segment of humanity is not prepared to accept evidence based on science, and this generates much resistance to any efforts directed toward effective control of current and future challenges. In these complex circumstances, we must remain as cooperative and optimistic as possible so that we can promote the needed willpower and ingenuity.

This essay has broad support as it is a contribution to the Scientists’ Warning to Humanity Program of the Alliance of World Scientists ( Ripple et al., 2017 ).

1. Introduction

Planet Earth is an absolutely amazing place. An apparent rarity in the universe, it possesses the appropriate physical conditions to support life. As a result it hosts a tremendous variety of living creatures which we recognize and classify as various species. In relatively recent times, human life evolved, and in large part due to our extraordinary intelligence, has become the dominant life form on the planet. With nuclear power technologies, we are now capable of destroying all complex life forms, including ourselves. Our dominance is recognized by the acceptance of the term Anthropocene which proclaims that we have entered a human dominated planetary phase. Our numbers are projected to increase from an estimated 7.6 billion to 10 billion by 2050 ( Baillie and Zhang, 2018 ). Human caused species extinctions have also reached an unprecedented rate such that we are generally viewed as causing the sixth mass extinction episode for the planet. A recent effort to photograph human impacts on land use over the entire globe from 1992 to 2015 documents this rapidly increasing global-scale impact on land areas ( Nowosad et al., 2018 ). The inevitable questions for humanity at this stage in our history are: “Does this matter for our species?” “Does this rapid increase in numbers along with its corresponding expansion of our utilization of the Earth’s land area matter?” What does it mean for us?” Maybe it is merely a signal that we are a very successful species, and we can celebrate our good fortune. On the other hand, perhaps it is a signal that we are over-exploiting the Earth’s resources and we should seriously be preparing for a population crash. Or, are there still other scenarios? In the following two sections of this essay, we will explore these questions from the perspective of ecological science and then again from behavioral science. Subsequently, we will look for lessons learned by considering 20 predictions that emerge from our analysis.

2. Relevant ecological principles

Nine established principles of ecological science that are relevant to the circumstances we face are as follows:

• 1. Population growth in numbers on a finite planet cannot continue indefinitely for any living species, including humans ( Czech, 2013 ; Meadows et al., 2004 ).
• 2. Population growth generates three possible negative forces that collectively increase exponentially and eventually stop growth. These are increasing mortality rates, decreasing birth rates, and increasing rates of emigration relative to immigration. Only the first two of these are applicable with a global perspective. Separately or collectively, these negative processes cause population growth to stop. If access to required resources has been compromised during growth, the population may not only stop growing but decline or even crash ( Lidicker, 2002 ).
• 3. Living systems require energy for their ongoing existence. The proportion of available energy that is required for maintenance of living systems increases as the size and complexity of those systems increase. This means that the proportion of energy available for other desirable activities such as reproduction, individual growth, maintenance of health, and defense against parasites and pathogens will be proportionally and progressively less and less available as numbers increase ( Brown,J.H., Burnside, R. et al., 2011 ).
• 4. For social species such as humans, increasing numbers require additional energy for maintaining the integrity and cohesion of the groups to which they belong, and on which they depend for their livelihood.
• 5. The resources that humans need to support their food and shelter requirements are partly non-renewable and partly renewable. The first requires the extraction of various minerals, water, fuels, and building materials. Over time these resources will decline and become increasingly more difficult to extract. In the case of fresh water, supplies are becoming increasingly polluted. This not only affects us directly, but also all of the non-marine species that constitute the basis for our food supplies, medicinal drugs, other building materials, as well as a myriad of so-called “ecosystem services”. This trend also can influence weather patterns … Recent studies have concluded that our annual supply of renewables is now being used up by about August 1 of any given calendar year. Thus for five months we are deficit spending these resources, and in the process generally doing damage such that the Earth’s capability of generating these renewables becomes diminished ( Wakernagal et al., 2002 ). This human impact on the generation of these essential resources has been dubbed “the human footprint.” Two diverse examples illustrate the major impacts that humanity is making on renewable resources: 1) Mongolian steppe grasslands are heavily degraded because of exploding demands for cashmere wool plus a series of unusually severe winters ( MacLaughlin, 2019 ); 2) Diadromous fish populations in the north Atlantic have declined dramatically from multiple causes ( Limburg and Walden, 2009 ).
• 6. The human enterprise cannot succeed by going it alone ( Crist et al., 2017 ; Heal, 2017 ). Success requires the presence of a rich biota to provide the conditions necessary for our survival. As mentioned, these enabling services have been labeled with the metaphor of “ecosystem services” ( Daily, 1997 ; Norgaard, 2010 ). This concept has been reasonably successful in calling attention to our dependence on the Earth’s biota for humanity’s existence and welfare. These benefits that non-human organisms provide for us include oxygen generation, soil fertility, pollination of crops and other plant food resources, fisheries, air and water purification, pest control, medicines, genetic resources, fuel, building materials, weather moderation, dispersal of seeds and nutrients, partial stabilization of climate, mitigation of floods and droughts, decomposition of wastes, industrial applications, etc. And, this is not to mention the provision of a healthy, aesthetic, and intellectually stimulating environment (Daily1997).
• 7. Cnfounding the Earth’s declining ability to supply a steadily accelerating supply of the resources upon which we depend is that the species of living organisms that are required for production of renewable resources are increasingly facing population declines and risks of extinction because of ongoing fragmentation and degradation of the natural habitats that they need for maintaining healthy populations with long term viability ( Ascensão et al., 2018 ; Tucker,M.A.,K. Bohnning-Gaese et al., 2018 ; Hilty et al., 2019 ; Laurance, 2019 ).
• 8. Fortunately, it is the case that when populations and communities of numerous species are damaged by human activities or unusual forces, they can quite often recover over time if they are suitably protected from subsequent damages. However, we now know that if a community is badly damaged, it can experience a “tipping point” or threshold such that it cannot recover ( Dai et al., 2012 ; Roque et al., 2018 ), and it then becomes a different kind of community that is generally less productive, and much less useful to humans. This illustrates one of the many mechanisms that result in reduced resource availabilities, or expanded human footprints, as populations continue to build.
• 9. As we strive to preserve as much of our natural heritage as possible, we need to be aware of an often neglected feature of highly motile species. This is that individuals of such species often need more than one kind of suitable habitat. For example, there may be different habitat types required for different life history stages. An obvious example is species of frogs that begin life in a freshwater pond, but then metamorphose into adults that live in a forest. Many species are seasonally migratory, utilizing quite different habitats at different seasons. Some may even require particular transit habitats. An interesting case is that of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) in eastern Canada. Individuals that spend the winter at greater distances from their summer range survive better, but as a result such individuals will require larger home ranges ( Lafontain et al., 2007 ). A particular hazard for some migratory species is that the travel routes may need to be learned from conspecifics ( Festa-Bianchet, 2018 ; Jesmer et al., 2018 ). This implies that if social groups get too small they may lose all their potential leaders, and hence access to migratory destinations.

3. Relevant social behaviors

The following nine social behaviors can and should be recruited to help humanity respond to the ecological impacts that will surely endanger human civilization if current trends are allowed to continue.

• 1. We must explicitly recognize the need for an appropriate mixture of altruistic and self-promoting social behaviors. The first of these benefit the sociopolitical groups to which we belong (the common good), and the second group of behaviors supports the individual welfare of each of the citizens that constitute those groups ( Reich, 2019 ). Both are essential for our ongoing welfare. This principal emphasizes the necessity of having democratic mechanisms in place that promote true feelings of participation in the crafting of sustainable societies. This spirit of cooperation is essential for encouraging discussions that generate an appropriate mixture of benefits to individuals and to the success of the sociopolitical groups to which they belong ( Reich, 2019 ). Moreover, there will need to be a system of appropriate sanctions for individuals who have overly selfish or parasitic tendencies. This dual-purpose social behavior has a long history going back to our primate ancestors ( de Waal, 2015 ) and is clearly expressed in the U.S. Constitution. An illustrative example of how far we have drifted from this principle is provided by a quote from David Starr Jordan, a famous fish biologist who was a Professor of Zoology and later President of Stanford University, that is preserved in a 1933 8th grade graduation diploma from a school in Hawaii. Jordan’s message includes the statement that “Success means service. The more you serve the cause of others, the greater will be your own success.” In modern societies, this duality of behavioral modes is rarely explicit and increasingly favors individual benefits. When it is discussed, it is often put in terms of pursuit of private wealth (money) versus self-sacrificing altruism. Another unfortunate expression of this duality that has become common in the political dialog in the USA often occurs when behaviors that support the common good are labeled as “socialism.” While technically correct, this term translates for many Americans into “communism” which has widespread negative connotations. On the other hand, the single minded pursuit of money is justified as beneficial capitalism. These unfortunate interpretations of “socialism” make it more difficult to promote democracy which unequivocally requires a balance of the two modes of social behavior ( Lidicker, 2003 ; Reich, 2019 ).
• 2. Sociopolitical groups are hierarchically arranged, and all individuals must be contributing members of one or more groups, preferably including groups at multiple hierarchical levels. For example, an individual may belong to a neighborhood group, a county government, and a professional vocational association. National citizenship is an almost ubiquitous example of group membership.
• 3. Dialog at all levels needs to be respectful of the huge array of world views that currently exist in and among various social groups ( Reich, 2019 ). When serious disagreements arise within a group, it is often appropriate and effective to promote conversations with the observation that differing viewpoints generally will accommodate many objectives or components that are held in common. Hopefully, encouraging this approach will make it possible to address disagreements in a cooperative and compromising manner. An example of such a cultural impediment that needs to be confronted is the almost universal prohibition against including human population growth in relevant discussions ( Bongaarts, O’ Neill et al., 2018 ).
• 4. Appropriately there are often moral issues that need to be discussed or at least acknowledged in any considerations of human population growth. Moral principles are mostly acquired in childhood and as youthful adults. As such they are very difficult to modify. Our deliberations need to respect that reality. Tampering with human population growth is a topic that is loaded with moral issues. Those that accept the relevant scientific evidence are often accused of being genocidal, racist, anti-poor folks, anti-religion, and generally anti-human. These accusations are completely in error. In fact, the position taken in by the scientifically aware is the opposite. Generally, those who accept the scientific imperative feel that they have a moral responsibility to be concerned about the future of mankind. Usually they also are genuinely concerned about the huge inequities in the distribution of resources around the Earth. For many there is also a moral concern for the drift of governments away from democracies and into authoritarian regimes. This trend encourages increasing xenophobia which in turn generates a lack of cooperation among groups, and inevitably increasing negative interactions.
• 5. When engaging in discussion topics that deal with conservation and the future of humanity, it is generally advisable to avoid arguments based largely on aesthetics, love of nature, and related approaches. While these positions are valid in the context of particular world views, they are all susceptible to being characterized as the products of special interest groups, and tend to be divisive. Teachers and leaders at all levels need to appreciate that opinions which humans grow up with are very difficult to change by reasoning and argument alone. The multiple viewpoints can be accommodated by compromises, cooperation, and mutually supported programs and policies.
• 6. Community discussions are much more likely to succeed if the participants have sufficient education so that they can differentiate truth from falsehoods, and know how to think critically. This means that successful societies must provide good public education that is readily available to all children ( Lidicker, 2003 . Reich, 2019 ).
• 7. Related to this last array of social behaviors is the extremely important and yet very difficult social issue of the appropriateness of humans deliberately manipulating their own species numbers. One world view on this is that humans should do what they can to have as many members of their own species living on our planet as they can. This view was ingrained in our genes for almost all of human history, and surely has contributed to our successful survival and expansive distribution. It is also ingrained in many of our cultural behaviors and beliefs. A logical corollary of this viewpoint is that any effort to control population growth is genocide and inherently racist. However, in recent decades other issues relating to population growth have emerged. For example, it is now widely believed that women should be able to determine when and for how many times they should become pregnant. Known outcomes of this view are: smaller families that are less likely to live in poverty, improved education and hence job opportunities, communities with higher average standards of living, less criminal activity, healthier citizens, democratic governing structures, etc. Moreover, it is increasingly apparent that without constraints on population growth there is also the inevitability of genocide of a different type (see ecological principles 1–3) along with the following 20 realistic predictions. Peacefully debating the virtues of these two modes of so-called genocide will be a monumental challenge, but one we must face ( Kopnina and H. Washington, 2016 ; Kopnina and B. Taylor et al., 2018 ; Washington et al., 2019 ). The good news is that there is abundant worldwide evidence that if adults have the tools and understanding needed for controlling their own reproductive output, it will be modest and sustainable.
• 8. An aura of optimism is important. Pessimism leads only to inaction followed by failures and more pessimism ( Lidicker, 2011 ). An encouraging hopeful sign is the recent widespread mobilization of youthful activists in support of numerous progressive causes.
• 9. Conservationists should more aggressively confront the social tendency to minimize or ignore long term consequences of development projects, and take advantage of opportunities to educate the public about the issues involved ( Laurance et al., 2014 ). Litigation also can be a tool for delaying projects long enough for public education to become effective ( Florens and Vincenot., 2018 ).

4. Realistic prospects and problems

Obviously we need to muster all our resources and social skills to prevent continuing in our currently unsustainable trajectory. Equipped now with an ecological and behavioral framework, we can begin to carefully construct guidelines to inform our future efforts. A reasonable place to begin would seem to be an outline of our goals for humanity in the immediate future. Do we accept a fate of massive poverty, massive mortality from wars, terrorism, and disease, and uncontrollable migrations to the places where basic resources are still available? This is our current trajectory ( Brown, 2006 ; Heal 2017 ; Kopnina and Washington (2016) ; Stokstad 2019 ). We can assume, I hope, that we would prefer a future that features a comfortable standard of living with minimal disparity among individuals and social groups, high levels of education, and democratic organizational structures for social groups at all levels of organization. In this way, everyone can feel they have input into decisions being made that likely will affect them. Especially important is respectful coexistence of diverse cultures and world views.

In the recent past, there has been much discussion as to whether our deteriorating situation should be blamed mainly on human population growth or whether affluence and pollution should share as major contributors ( Ehrlich and Holdren 1971 . Actually, these three factors interact in complex ways. For example, while improving the standard of living of people everywhere is clearly a desired objective, this certainly would add to the consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources. On the other hand, if affluence were more equally distributed than it currently is, it would improve the situation so that people in general are more content with their lives and hence are more likely to be cooperative and productive. Pollution of our environment also reduces our standard of living through its negative impacts on our health, and by increasingly deleterious impacts on our agriculture, parks, and natural areas. This in turn reduces the health benefits of natural areas ( Weinstein et al., 2015 ), and diminishes the rate of replenishment of renewable resources.

An often heard argument is that technological advances will allow us to overcome the negative effects of population growth. Technology can and certainly will contribute to a slowing of the current negative trends. However, at this time in our history it is apparent that rapid human population growth along with out-of- control climate change will not only quickly cancel out many of the benefits for humans that technology may contribute, but it will continuously add new challenges as population growth, resource depletion, and climate change continue. Mann (2018) engagingly discusses this dichotomy of prevailing beneficial natural processes dominating our future versus a technology based “green revolution.” Probably some combination of these two survival strategies will prevail. The reality, however, is much more complicated. Superimposed on these two approaches, we face the real possibility that current and future climate changes will force humanity worldwide to confront widespread disruption of human communities and ecosystem services, not to mention negative impacts on biodiversity ( Norgaard, 2010 ; Nolan et al., 2018 ). For example, we can anticipate warming climates increasing crop losses to insect pests, especially at temperate latitudes ( Deutsch et al., 2018 ). Moreover, it is especially important that we plan for anticipated extreme weather events and catastrophic fires. An example of a positive recent research finding is that restoring large grazers to depleted range lands can blunt the impacts of major fires in those situations ( Pennisi, 2018 ).

Hopefully, the negative projections might increase the awareness of the public and governments regarding the necessity to confront the drivers of climate change more vigorously. Inevitably, this will incorporate an increasing focus on slowing of human population growth. Unfortunately, many humans, probably more than half, are opposed to any plan that would involve slowing and eventually stopping human population growth. There are many reasons for this point of view that makes folks unwilling to confront the risks we collectively face. One important reason for this reluctance is that since the late 1970’s, most world cultures have moved toward rewarding individual benefits over supporting the common good. This trend compromises the feeling of cooperation within the social groups to which we all belong and depend on for our survival ( Reich, 2019 ). More troublesome is the realization that, as mentioned, many folks view any efforts to contain population growth as homicide, etc. In reality, efforts to control our runaway population growth are precisely and explicitly the opposite. We want to improve the welfare of people everywhere, and strive to eliminate poverty, racism and other forms of xenophobia. Lastly, we would want to maintain an individual’s freedom to control their own reproductive activities. The only constraint on an individual’s behavior is that it must be compatible with the needs of the social groups to which they belong.

5. Realistic predictions

Realistic predictions can be derived from ecological and sociopolitical knowledge as well as from already existing trends, and can serve to motivate appropriate actions. An example of a well-established existing trend is that of global warming. Scientists have been concerned about this human caused trend at least as far back as 1966 ( Landsberg, 1970 ). Predictions, however, are inherently risky, especially given the power of human ingenuity to address perceived problems. Three examples of failures to predict accurately are: 1) the much faster than predicted sea level rises associated with the deltas of large river systems ( Voosen, 2019 ); 2) The unanticipated huge wave of unusually hot water that beginning five years ago swept across the Pacific Ocean causing widespread havoc with fisheries, seabird populations and whales, and is currently developing again ( Cornwall, 2019 ); and 3) Concentrations of the greenhouse gas methane are increasing in the atmosphere more rapidly than predicted ( Mikaloff Fletcher and Schaefer, 2019 ). In general, modern chaos theory supports the generalization that when dealing with complex systems, longer term predictions are more reliable because they are guided predominately by deterministic processes, while shorter term predictions are less reliably accurate since they often are strongly influenced ly by random processes. In general it will be very difficult to predict the ability of species and he communities of which they are a part to adapt successfully to the rapidly changing conditions in our future ( Bridle and van Rensburg (2020) . In this cautious spirit, the following 20 predictions are offered as potential warnings.

• a) The Earth’s per capita ability to supply basic food resources for humans will decline ( Deutsch et al., 2018 ; Riegler, 2018 ).
• b) Supplies of potable water will decline.
• c) The average standard of living will decline, probably with a continuously increasing unevenness of access to resources.
• d) Human immigration pressures will increase dramatically, mostly directed to those places on the planet that retain the highest levels of access to the remaining resources.
• e) Health maintenance levels and average life expectancies will diminish.
• f) The prevalence of disease outbreaks and pandemics will increase ( Pongsiri et al., 2009 ). In part this will be due to progressive diminution and loss of favorable gut microbiota, especially in urban areas ( Dominguez Bello et al., 2018 ).
• g) The proportion of individuals with debilitating mental illnesses will increase along with a general increase in the proportion of folks unhappy with their living conditions.
• h) Earthquakes will increase in numbers as a result of the proliferation of injection wells ( Goebel et al., 2018 ). These wells generate significantly destructive earthquake activity up to 30 km distance from the wells.
• i) The Earth’s climate will continue to warm into the foreseeable future ( Naff, 2016 ) leading to increasing instances of extreme weather conditions ( Murakami et al., 2018 ).
• j) Saltwater intrusion into coastal communities, sometimes for many kilometers, will endanger coastal forest wetlands ( Gewen, 2018 ), modify greenhouse gas emissions, increase methane production, and jeopardize coastal real estate values ( Worth and Dahl, 2018 ).
• k) Increasing ocean acidification will endanger marine life compromising an extremely important source of food for humans.
• l) Concentrations of methane, a powerful climate altering compound has nearly tripled in the atmosphere since 1800 and is expected to continue increasing driven by many causes, especially by agriculture and use of fossil fuels ( Mikaloff Fletcher and Schaefer, 2019 , Voosen, 2019 , Voosen, 2020 ).
• m) Extinction rates for the Earth’s biota will continue to increase alarmingly Stokstad (2019) .
• n) Insect biomass has declined dramatically in Germany ( Vogel, 2017 ), and this may be a prelude for similar trends elsewhere.
• o) Rapid expansion of infrastructure, such as roads, to support human population growth will generate multiple hazards for humans and the rest of the global biota ( Laurance et al., 2014 ; Laurance, 2019 ).
• p) Criminal activity in general will increase ( Weinstein et al., 2015 ) as well as both domestic and international terrorism.
• q) Governments at all levels will become more authoritarian.
• r) Social groupings above the levels of neighborhoods and small towns will become increasingly xenophobic.
• s) Pressure for recreation will increasingly and negatively impact protected areas.
• t) Support for education and basic research will decline as they are threats to dictatorships.

6. Guidelines

Here are six guidelines for all concerned citizens of this planet that summarize recommended approaches for achieving a sustainable human civilization. In addition, please note that Kopnina et al. (2016) have provided a most welcome list of human behaviors that non-coercively will help to guide us to population stability.

• 1) Pay attention to scientific understanding, and support future research. To make this effective, scientists need to do their part by making the effort to explain their findings in ways that can be understood by educated non-scientists and especially by government leaders.
• 2) Remain as optimistic as the evidence permits. No one wants to contribute time and financial support to lost causes, even if they are presented as important for various reasons. On the other hand, optimism encourages enthusiastic support for even difficult but important programs.
• 3) Maintain respectful dialog with as large a component of the Earth’s citizenry as possible. While local and regional projects are important for improving limited areas, and for education of residents and visitors, in the long term we will not succeed without significant cooperative involvement of all parts of Earth. We need to encourage the recent trends toward eliminating gender, ethnic, and racial biases in all aspects of human civilization. All women of reproductive age should have access to the tools needed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Relevant to human population growth, it is important to note that when women have control over their reproductive activities, they typically make choices that are appropriate to their social and environmental circumstances. Population numbers then become stabilized. It is also critical for all sex-related decisions that all world citizens have access to education at least through the secondary school level.
• 4) Encourage cooperation and democracy in the organizational structure of social, governmental, and other groupings of various sizes and complexity. The Earth is full of countries with various levels of autocratic governments, and therefore we know that autocrats are not cooperative. Their primary job is maintaining their personal power. The welfare of their citizenry is low on their priorities, and may even be absent. Moreover, maintenance of the natural environment that in the long run supports their government may also be ignored or perhaps be exploited for monetary gain. Unfortunately, many countries, including the USA, are moving in the direction of autocracy, or are already there.
• 5) Be constantly aware of finding the appropriate balance of activities that support both the common good and those that enhance individual fitness. This dual support is essential for survival of social species such as Homo sapiens. However in some countries, including the USA, this duality is rarely mentioned and is certainly not emphasized. When it is mentioned, at least in the United States, it generally is put in terms of making money for the rich and large corporations versus unselfish giving to the poor. These behaviors are justified as appropriate capitalism on the one hand and admirable charity on the other. Recently, another tactic is to give to the financially poor and call it “socialism.” Of course it is socialism but in some countries, such as the US, this name is translated to unacceptable communism. Meaningful support for the financially stressed is threatened or absent, and yet is important to find ways to keep those struggling with financial poverty as contributing members of a democratic society.
• 6) Don’t underestimate the need for rapid progress in confronting the 20 predictions listed above. Cooperative social support is needed now. The current Covid 19 pandemic offers some helpful lessons in social behavior. Cooperation is now widespread and appreciated. Altruism is more and more common. Search for an appropriate vaccine is a worldwide endeavor. Even some corporations are considering giving to the common good. And, as predicted, there are individuals who compromise the cooperative spirit by intentionally not wearing masks when asked to do so, and thereby endangering the larger community in which they are a part. In such a social context, societies would be justified in protecting themselves from such dangers.

A final thought: Nine decades ago, Anne Frank gave us this wisdom: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Global Population Aging: Facts, Challenges, Solutions & Perspectives

The rapid aging of populations around the world presents an unprecedented set of challenges: shifting disease burden, increased expenditure on health and long-term care, labor-force shortages, dissaving, and potential problems with old-age income security. We view longer life spans, particularly longer healthy life spans, as an enormous gain for human welfare. The challenges come from the fact that our current institutional and social arrangements are unsuited for aging populations and shifting demographics; our proposed solution is therefore to change our institutions and social arrangements. The first section of this essay provides a statistical overview of global population aging and its contributing factors. The second section outlines some of the major challenges associated with widespread population aging. Finally, the third section of the essay describes various responses to these challenges, both current and prospective, facing individuals, businesses, institutions, and governments.

DAVID E. BLOOM, a Fellow of the American Academy since 2005, is the Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics and Demography in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His many publications include recent articles in such journals as  JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, Finance & Development , and  Science .

DAVID CANNING is the Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Sciences and Professor of Economics and International Health in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His many publications include recent articles in such journals as  Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Applied Statistics , and  Journal of International Development .

ALYSSA LUBET is a Research Assistant in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests include economics, women's health and reproductive health, and population studies.

We are in the midst of an unprecedented transition in global demography. The world’s population is aging rapidly, and older adults compose a larger proportion of the world’s population than ever before–a share that will only increase over the next century. By 2050, the percentage of the United States’ population that is aged sixty years and older will grow from the current figure of about 20 percent to 27 percent. The global number of centenarians worldwide–those aged one hundred years and older–is expected to more than double by 2030, with projections of nearly 3.4 million by 2050. 1  Three major factors are driving this transition: decreasing fertility, increasing longevity, and the aging of large population cohorts.

Falling fertility rates are the main determinant of population aging. Low fertility rates lead to smaller youth cohorts, which create an imbalance in the age structure: older age groups become larger than their younger counterparts. Thanks to accessible and effective birth control, increased child survival, and cultural changes, birth rates have dropped dramatically in the past century. In 1950, the global total fertility rate (TFR), or the average number of children per woman, was about 5; by 2010, that number had dropped by 50 percent. By 2050, the TFR will have dropped even further to about 2.25 children per woman. In many countries, fertility rates are now well below the long-term replacement rate of just over two children per woman.

Changes in fertility rate are accompanied by increased longevity, another driver of population aging. Averaging for sex and location, a child born in 1950 had a life expectancy of only forty-seven years, while an adult who had survived to the age of sixty could expect to live another fourteen years. In contrast, by 2010, life expectancy at birth had increased to seventy years, and continued life expectancy for those aged sixty increased to twenty years. In a number of populations, recent increases in longevity have been attributed to falling rates of tobacco consumption, as well as improvements in medical technologies. 2 By 2050, life expectancy at birth is expected to have risen to nearly seventy-seven years, while life expectancy at age sixty will increase to twenty-two-and-a-half years.

Meanwhile, large population cohorts, such as the United States’ postwar baby boom generation, are moving through middle age and older adulthood. This movement can be seen in Figure 1, which depicts the population of more-developed countries (MDCs) broken down by sex and age group. Males are on the left side of the pyramid and females are on the right. The shifting shape of the population pyramid between the years 2010 and 2050 illustrates the baby boom cohort’s movement from middle into older ages.

These global phenomena–decreasing fertility, increasing longevity, and the aging of large birth cohorts–combine to drive up the percentage of older adults as a share of the global population. In 1950, only 8 percent of the world’s population was sixty years or older; this number increased to 11 percent by 2010. Over the next several decades, this proportion is expected to rise dramatically, reaching a projected 21.2 percent by 2050. The change is even more dramatic for the share of the world’s population aged eighty years or older. This proportion climbed from just 0.6 percent in 1950 to 1.6 percent in 2010, and is projected to make up 4.1 percent of the global population by 2050.

While the population of virtually every country is aging rapidly, there remains considerable variation at both regional and country levels, with strong correlations to differing income levels. MDCs trend toward low fertility and high longevity, and less-developed countries (LDCs) trend toward the opposite. At the low end of the fertility range are the MDCs found in Eu - rope and East Asia, with Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Singapore tied for the lowest TFR of 1.28 children per woman. Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa has a regional TFR of just over 5, while also hosting the highest country-level fertility rates: Somalia (6.61), Mali (6.86), and Niger (7.58). As for longevity, Japan is in the lead with a current life expectancy at birth of eighty-three-and-a-half years, in stark contrast to Sierra Leone, where life expectancy at birth is slightly over forty-five years.

Tables 1 and 2 depict the percent of the elderly population in the world’s most and least population-aged countries, now (2010) and projected in the future (2050). The 2050 figures are based on a medium fertility projection, which assumes that fertility in all major areas will stabilize at replacement level (at slightly over two children per woman). This comparison reveals stark differences in age profiles between countries. For example, currently 23 percent of Germany’s population is aged sixty-five years and older, while the corresponding figure for Qatar (with its large expatriate worker population) is only 1 percent. These rankings are projected to shift considerably in the next half century, with only Japan holding over in the top five most population-aged nations. . . .

Access the full volume here . 

• 1 Unless otherwise stated, population figures are drawn from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, Population Estimates and Projections Section, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision (New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2014), http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm.
• 2 Colin D. Mathers, Gretchen A. Stevens, Ties Boerma, Richard A. White, and Martin I. Tobias, “Causes of International Increases in Older Age Life Expectancy,” The Lancet 6736 (14) (2014).

80 Overpopulation Topics & Essay Examples

Looking for interesting overpopulation topics for an essay or research paper? The issue is hot and definitely worth writing about!

• 🔝 Top 10 Topics to Write About
• 🏆 Best Essay
• 📌 Most Interesting Topics to Write about
• 👍 Research Questions & Topics

Here we’ve gathered a list of overpopulation essay examples, title ideas, and research questions related to the field. Get inspired with us!

🔝 Top 10 Overpopulation Topics to Write About

• Population dynamics in the world
• The role of medical advancements in human overpopulation
• Overpopulation: causes and effects
• Overpopulation and poverty: the correlation
• Does overpopulation threaten democracy?
• Social conflict and population growth: is there a connection?
• Overpopulation and pandemics today
• Population growth and human impact on environment
• Do we need to fight overpopulation?
• Human population planning

🏆 Best Overpopulation Essay

• Overpopulation: Causes, Effects and Consequences The primary objective is to highlight the deplorable consequences of overpopulation and thereby persuade people not to overpopulate. In the past, poor people gave birth to a lot of children to make up for high […]
• Overpopulation: Causes, Effects, and Solutions Advances in industry and production provide clothes and items for the growing population to use, thus creating and maintaining a higher standard of living.
• Overpopulation and Limit on Number of Children Another supporting factor of limiting the number of children is that it allows for more resources to be dedicated to each child both within microenvironments of the family and the macro considerations of the national […]
• Impacts of Overpopulation on the Environment Other primary causes of deforestation are construction of roads and residential houses to cater for the increasing population. As the natural habitats are destroyed, many wildlife species have been displaced and many died due to […]
• Human Population and the Environment The fertility rate of a given species will depend on the life history characteristics of the species such as the number of reproductive periods in the lifetime of the species and the number of offspring […]
• How Overpopulation Affects Our Economy These are: population dynamics and the demographic concept, reasons for the increase in the size of the population, effects of overpopulation in the economy, food production per capita index, lower national income, increasing burden on […]
• Overpopulation Effects on the Environment In comparison to the population in 2000, the population in 2050 is predicted to rise by 47 percent. The aim of this research is to describe the effects of overpopulation on land, air, and food […]
• Overpopulation and Homelessness in the Modern World According to the United Nations, more than half of the population resides in urban areas, making the problem of homelessness visible: cities cannot keep up with the high demand for housing, resulting in people living […]
• Overpopulation Benefits With this in mind, this paper shall set out to evaluate the impacts of overpopulation to the political, cultural, anthropological and economical perspectives to various economies and societies.
• Utilitarian View on Overpopulation and Life Quality Despite the various foundations of utilitarianism, it involves the association of actions based on the good will of the majority, hence the subjective nature to individualized domain.
• Global Issues, Climate Justice, and Human Overpopulation On the one hand, globalization has many positive aspects: the mutual enrichment of the world community, the exchange of best practices, and the availability of goods.
• The Issue of Overpopulation and Human Population Growth Control The consequences of overpopulation include the depletion of natural resources and climate change which have hindered the conservation of natural resources such as water and animals.
• Overpopulation: Is the Small World Getting Smaller? Nevertheless, despite the legitimacy of the concerns raised over the slow availability of numerous resources and the seemingly drastic and steep increase in the number of people worldwide, the issue of overpopulation is likely to […]
• Managing Overpopulation in India and Caused Problems The death of the aged reduces the population by 10. Employment to the youth reduces poverty.
• Overpopulation and Food Production Problem Therefore, the issue explored in this paper is the decrease of Earth’s natural resources and capacity to produce food re decreasing, while the problem of hunger remains and the population continues to increase. 3% of […]
• Problem of Overpopulation: Proenvironmental Concerns It is necessary to find the ways to solve future problems as the situation is likely to worsen over time. The mentioned quotes prove that it is possible to correct people’s thinking about overpopulation and […]
• Human Overpopulation and Its Global Impact Overpopulation presents a huge threat to the future of the planet, as the resources of the Earth seem to be at the breaking point because of their overexploitation caused by enormous rates of population increase.
• The Problem of Overpopulation and How to Fix It It can be stated the confidence that the solution to this global challenge is the primary duty of present and future generations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the overpopulation phenomenon and propose […]
• The Issue of the Overpopulation Particularly, the proponents of fertility control support their position by the fact that the degrading environment is no longer able to provide for the needs of so many people, and with the duration of time […]
• Does the Overpopulation of Our Planet Pose a Serious Problem? Another concern for the demographers is that while in certain developing nations the rate of population growth has been increasing, in the developed countries it has been found to be declining steadily.
• Environmental Problems From Human Overpopulation The significant movement of the population to the suburbs, coupled with economic prosperity and the technological improvement that made it possible, began to take its toll.
• Overpopulation: “Empty Planet” by Bricker & Ibbitson However, while some people are trying in vain to stabilize the average population growth in all parts of the world, others are becoming aware of the implications such drastic changes can bring to the future […]
• Birth Control Against Overpopulation Based on the information presented, it can be seen that the current growth of the human population is unsustainable in the long run due to the finite resources on the planet.
• The Impact of Overpopulation on the Global Environment In support of the motion that the global population is too large and that the United States and other industrialized countries should support active measures to control population growth in the developing world, it is […]
• Prison in the USA: Solutions to Reducing Overpopulation First of all, it is necessary to improve the justice system which is the reason of overpopulation in prisons. Secondly, it is necessary to rethink the life of inmates in prison.
• Overpopulation Challenges in China The population crisis in China has become a global issue, owing to the numerous contributions that the country makes towards the activities of the international community.
• The Problem of Overpopulation The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes and effects of overpopulation, potential threats to society, and the ecosystem, as well as the ways to overcome the problem.
• Overpopulation as a Challenge to Management’s Ethos It is based on this that when it comes to the threat of overpopulation as a challenge to management’s ethos of mass-production and mass-consumption, the problem lies in the fact that the ethos of companies […]
• The Challenges of Overpopulation: Vertical Cities The design of the building assumes that the structure will have a longer and sustainable life as compared to the degrading city and surroundings.
• The Problem of Global Overpopulation Insights gained from the chapters reveal that the main reason behind the problem of resource overconsumption which threatens the very future of the planet is the rampant overpopulation of humanity which threatens to drain the […]

📌 Most Interesting Overpopulation Topics to Write about

• The Effects Of Human Overpopulation On The Environment
• The Threat Of Terrorism And Overpopulation Concerns
• A Discussion on the Effects of Global Warming and Overpopulation in the World
• The Population of Our Planet and the Issue of the Overpopulation
• The View On Overpopulation: Looking Deeper Into The Hardinian Taboo
• The Growth Population and Problem of Overpopulation During the 20th Century
• The Effects of Overpopulation on the Economy of China
• Pet Overpopulation: Cause And Effect Of Homeless Pets
• The Growing Concerns Regarding the Overpopulation of the World Amid Limited Resources
• Thomas Malthus Overpopulation Theory
• The Importance of Slowing Down the Environmental Consequences of Overpopulation
• The Enviromnetal Degradation as a Result of Overpopulation
• A Comparison of the Insights on Overpopulation in the Media
• Problems Created By Overpopulation Population Growth World
• The United States: Future Contributions to Overpopulation
• The Growing Concerns over Global Overpopulation Relative to the Depleting Resources
• Why the Problem of Overpopulation is a Serious Problem Today
• The World Fastest Gowing Problems: Overpopulation
• Pet Overpopulation: Negative Effects and Prevention
• The Issue of Overpopulation and the Main Reasons Why Capital Cities Become Overpopulated

👍 Overpopulation Research Questions & Topics

• The Cause, Effect, and Solution to Overpopulation in the Philippines
• A Description of the Problem of Overpopulation of Cats in the United States
• The Struggle of Overpopulation: China’s Fight Against Numbers
• We Must Stop Overpopulation and Pollution of Our Environment
• An Analysis of the Big Concern and the Growth and the Overpopulation of Our Planet
• An Overview of the Natural Beauty and the Right to Decent, the Issues of Overpopulation
• An Analysis of Overpopulation and Population Growth
• Poverty Is Not Caused by Overpopulation, Overpopulation Is Caused by Poverty
• The Great Human Tumor : Earth ‘s Human Overpopulation Crisis
• Population Control Measures And Control Overpopulation
• The Cause and Effects of Pet Overpopulation
• An Analysis of the Environmental Degradation as a Result of Overpopulation
• Sociology: Overpopulation and Population Growth
• An Argument in Favor of Stopping the Environmental Problem of Overpopulation
• An Analysis of the Theme of Overpopulation in Population Bomb by Ehrlich
• The Decline of Environmental Conditions Due to Human Overpopulation
• Overpopulation: Unemployment and Possible Solutions
• Prison Alternatives as Possible Solutions to Controlling Overpopulation in American Prisons
• The Worsening Problem of Earth’s Overpopulation
• The Negative Impact of Overpopulation on the World
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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• Overpopulation Essay

IELTS Overpopulation Essay

This model essay is about  overpopulation in cities . You specifically have to talk about the  problems  of overpopulation, and suggest some  solutions  to this problem.

Note that this question specifically asks you what governments and individuals can do.

Here is the question:

Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems.

Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals can tackle these problems.

Organising a Problems & Solutions Essay

Note that this overpopulation essay question specifically asks you what governments and individuals can do.

You MUST, therefore, write about what both of these can do in order to fully answer the question.

Note as well that you must talk about  serious  problems.

The easiest way to organize a problems and solutions essay is as follows:

Body 1: Problems

Body 2: Solutions

In this essay, a separate paragraph has been written about government and individual solutions, so it is organized as follows:

Body 2: Solutions - Government

Body 3: Solutions - Individuals

Model Essay

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

IELTS Overpopulation Essay - Sample Answer

Many countries of the world are currently experiencing problems caused by rapidly growing populations in urban areas, and both governments and individuals have a duty to find ways to overcome these problems.

Overpopulation can lead to overcrowding and poor quality housing in many large cities. Poorly heated or damp housing could cause significant health problems, resulting in illness, such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Another serious consequence of overcrowding is a rising crime rate as poor living conditions may lead young people in particular to take desperate measures and turn to crime or drugs.

In terms of solutions, I believe the government should be largely responsible. Firstly, it is vital that the state provides essential housing and healthcare for all its citizens. Secondly, setting up community projects to help foster more community spirit and help keep young people off the street is a good idea. For example, youth clubs or evening classes for teenagers would keep them occupied. Finally, more effective policing of inner city areas would also be beneficial.

Naturally, individuals should also try to address these problems. One way is to put pressure on the government to ensure they tackle the problems by, for instance, forming action groups to lobby the government and request intervention and adequate funding. They could also form Neighbourhood Watch areas to try and help reduce the high levels of crime.

Therefore, it is clear that the problems caused by overpopulation in urban areas are very serious. Yet if governments and individuals share a collective responsibility, then it may well become possible to offer some solutions.

(260 words)

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More Problems & Solutions Essays:

IELTS Problem Solution Essay Example: Why is immigration problematic?

This problem solution essay example is about the increasing number of professionals who are leaving their own poorer countries to work in developed countries

Competing for Jobs Essay

Competing for Jobs Essay: This is a model essay about the problems arising when older people have to compete with younger people for jobs. you need to write about the problems that arise if older people have to compete for jobs with younger people.

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Population growth, environmental degradation and climate change

More than a third of 50 recently surveyed Nobel laureates cited “population rise / environmental degradation” as the biggest threat to humankind. Second on the list was “nuclear war”, cited by 23 percent of the laureates, while no other issue was selected by more than 10 percent of respondents.

Are the survey responses of the Nobelists an accurate assessment of the relative importance of the threats facing humanity? And why were population increase and environmental damage bundled together in the survey, rather than being treated as separate issues?

A new report on population growth and sustainable development from the Population Division of UN DESA revisits the complex relationships linking population increase to social and economic development and environmental change.

On 23 February, the new report will be launched at the Future of the World Global Policy Dialogues: The Future of Population Growth kicking off at 8:30 a.m. EST. This event will be discussing the findings of the report and the linkages between population growth, socioeconomic development and environmental change.

The human population has experienced a period of unprecedented growth, more than tripling in size since 1950. It reached almost 7.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow to over 8.5 billion in 2030, the target date for achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This growth is the result of two trends: on the one hand, the gradual increase in average human longevity due to widespread improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine, and on the other hand, the persistence of high levels of fertility in many countries. But is growth of the human population responsible for the environmental catastrophe our planet is facing?

The data tell a different story. For example, although high-income and upper-middle-income countries contain around 50 per cent of the global population, they contribute around 85 per cent of global emissions of carbon dioxide. Such emissions from upper-middle-income countries have more than doubled since 2000, even though the population growth rate was falling throughout this period. Most high-income countries are growing slowly if at all, and for some the population has been decreasing.

Could measures to limit future population growth make a substantial contribution to mitigating climate change? A fundamental challenge is the slow pace at which population trends change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underlines that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Globally, population growth is slowing down and may come to a halt by around 2100, thanks to the smaller family sizes associated with social and economic development. However, given the intrinsic momentum of population growth, the range of plausible trajectories of global population over the next few decades is quite narrow. For this reason, further actions by Governments to limit the growth of populations would do little to mitigate the forces of climate change between now and 2050.

Instead of looking for solutions in demographic trends, achieving sustainability will depend critically on humanity’s capacity and willingness to increase resource efficiency in consumption and production and to decouple economic growth from damage to the environment. High-income and upper-middle-income countries should acknowledge their disproportionate contributions to global environmental damage and take the lead in building a more sustainable economic system for the benefit of future generations.

At the same time, in many low-income and lower-middle-income countries today, rapid population growth remains a matter of concern, because it adds to the challenges of achieving social and economic development and of ensuring that no one is left behind. The continuing high levels of fertility that drive such growth are both a symptom and a cause of slow progress in development, often linked to a lack of choice and empowerment among women and girls.

Rapid population growth makes it more difficult for low-income and lower-middle-income countries to commit sufficient resources to improving the health and education of their populations. Rapid growth and the associated slow progress in development also diminish their capacity to respond and adapt to emerging environmental threats, including those caused by climate change.

Achieving the SDG targets related to reproductive health, education and gender equality will require empowering individuals, particularly women, to make choices about the number and timing of their children. The experience of countries from all regions suggests that such changes will facilitate, and could potentially accelerate, the anticipated slowdown in global population growth over the coming decades.

Learn more about the Future of the World Global Policy Dialogues: The Future of Population Growth event on 23 February. Register here by 22 February. Learn more and access the report on the website of UN DESA’s Population Division .

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The Growth of World Population: Analysis of the Problems and Recommendations for Research and Training (1963)

Chapter: world population problems, world population problems, the growth of world population.

The population of the world, now somewhat in excess of three billion persons, is growing at about two per cent a year, or faster than at any other period in man’s history. While there has been a steady increase of population growth during the past two or three centuries, it has been especially rapid during the past 20 years. To appreciate the pace of population growth we should recall that world population doubled in about 1,700 years from the time of Christ until the middle of the 17th century; it doubled again in about 200 years, doubled again in less than 100, and, if the current rate of population increase were to remain constant, would double every 35 years. Moreover, this rate is still increasing.

To be sure, the rate of increase cannot continue to grow much further. Even if the death rate were to fall to zero, at the present level of human reproduction the growth rate would not be much in excess of three and one-half per cent per year, and the time required for world population to double would not fall much below 20 years.

Although the current two per cent a year does not sound like an extraordinary rate of increase, a few simple calculations demonstrate that such a rate of increase in human population could not possibly continue for more than a few hundred years. Had this rate existed from the time of Christ to now, the world population would have increased in this period by a factor of about 7×10 16 ; in other words, there would be about 20 million individuals in place of each

person now alive, or 100 people to each square foot. If the present world population should continue to increase at its present rate of two per cent per year, then, within two centuries, there will be more than 150 billion people. Calculations of this sort demonstrate without question not only that the current continued increase in the rate of population growth must cease but also that this rate must decline again. There can be no doubt concerning this long-term prognosis: Either the birth rate of the world must come down or the death rate must go back up.

POPULATION GROWTH IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

The rates of population growth are not the same, of course, in all parts of the world. Among the industrialized countries, Japan and most of the countries of Europe are now growing relatively slowly—doubling their populations in 50 to 100 years. Another group of industrialized countries—the United States, the Soviet Union, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Argentina—are doubling their populations in 30 to 40 years, approximately the world average. The pre-industrial, low-income, and less-developed areas of the world, with two thirds of the world’s population—including Asia (except Japan and the Asiatic part of the Soviet Union), the southwestern Pacific islands (principally the Philippines and Indonesia), Africa (with the exception of European minorities), the Caribbean Islands, and Latin America (with the exception of Argentina and Uruguay)—are growing at rates ranging from moderate to very fast. Annual growth rates in all these areas range from one and one-half to three and one-half per cent, doubling in 20 to 40 years.

The rates of population growth of the various countries of the world are, with few exceptions, simply the differences between their birth rates and death rates. International migration is a negligible factor in rates of growth today. Thus, one can understand the varying rates of population growth of different parts of the world by understanding what underlies their respective birth and death rates.

THE REDUCTION OF FERTILITY AND MORTALITY IN WESTERN EUROPE SINCE 1800

A brief, over-simplified history of the course of birth and death rates in western Europe since about 1800 not only provides a frame of reference for understanding the current birth and death rates in Europe, but also casts some light on the present situation and prospects in other parts of the world. A simplified picture of the population history of a typical western European country is shown in

Figure 1 . Schematic presentation of birth and death rates in western Europe after 1800. (The time span varies roughly from 75 to 150 years.)

Figure 1 . The jagged interval in the early death rate and the recent birth rate is intended to indicate that all the rates are subject to substantial annual variation. The birth rate in 1800 was about 35 per 1,000 population and the average number of children ever born to women reaching age 45 was about five. The death rate in 1800 averaged 25 to 30 per 1,000 population although, as indicated, it was subject to variation because of episodic plagues, epidemics, and crop failures. The average expectation of life at birth was 35 years or less. The current birth rate in western European countries is 14 to 20 per 1,000 population with an average of two to three children born to a woman by the end of childbearing. The death rate is 7 to 11 per 1,000 population per year, and the expectation of life at birth is about 70 years. The death rate declined, starting in the late 18th or early 19th century, partly because of better transport and communication, wider markets, and greater productivity, but more directly because of the development of sanitation and, later, modern medicine. These developments, part of the changes in the whole complex of modern civilization, involved scientific and technological advances in many areas, specifically in public health, medicine, agriculture, and industry. The immediate cause of the decline in the birth rate was the increased deliberate control of fertility within marriage. The only important exception to this statement relates to Ireland, where the decline in the birth rate was brought about by an increase of several years in the age at marriage combined with an increase of 10 to 15 per cent in the proportion of people remaining single. The average age at marriage rose to 28 and more than a fourth of Irish women remained unmarried at age 45. In other countries, however, such social changes have had either insignificant or favorable effects on the birth rate. In these countries—England, Wales, Scotland, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France—the birth rate went down because of the practice of contraception among married couples. It is certain that there was no decline in the reproductive capacity; in fact, with improved health, the contrary is likely.

Only a minor fraction of the decline in western European fertility can be ascribed to the invention of modern techniques of contraception. In the first place, very substantial declines in some European countries antedated the invention and mass manufacture of contraceptive devices. Second, we know from surveys that as recently as just

before World War II more than half of the couples in Great Britain practicing birth control were practicing withdrawal, or coitus interruptus. There is similar direct evidence for other European countries.

In this instance, the decline in fertility was not the result of technical innovations in contraception, but of the decision of married couples to resort to folk methods known for centuries. Thus we must explain the decline in the western European birth rates in terms of why people were willing to modify their sexual behavior in order to have fewer children. Such changes in attitude were doubtless a part of a whole set of profound social and economic changes that accompanied the industrialization and modernization of western Europe. Among the factors underlying this particular change in attitude was a change in the economic consequences of childbearing. In a pre-industrial, agrarian society children start helping with chores at an early age; they do not remain in a dependent status during a long period of education. They provide the principal form of support for the parents in their old age, and, with high mortality, many children must be born to ensure that some will survive to take care of their parents. On the other hand, in an urban, industrialized society, children are less of an economic asset and more of an economic burden.

Among the social factors that might account for the change in attitude is the decline in the importance of the family as an economic unit that has accompanied the industrialization and modernization of Europe. In an industrialized economy, the family is no longer the unit of production and individuals come to be judged by what they do rather than who they are. Children leave home to seek jobs and parents no longer count on support by their children in their old age. As this kind of modernization continues, public education, which is essential to the production of a literate labor force, is extended to women, and thus the traditional subordinate role of women is modified. Since the burden of child care falls primarily on women, their rise in status is probably an important element in the development of an attitude favoring the deliberate limitation of family size. Finally, the social and economic changes characteristic of industrialization and modernization of a country are accompanied by and reinforce a rise of secularism, pragmatism, and rationalism in place of custom and tradition. Since modernization of a nation involves extension of deliberate human control over an increasing range of the environment,

it is not surprising that people living in an economy undergoing industrialization should extend the notion of deliberate and rational control to the question of whether or not birth should result from their sexual activities.

As the simplified representation in Figure 1 indicates, the birth rate in western Europe usually began its descent after the death rate had already fallen substantially. (France is a partial exception. The decline in French births began late in the 18th century and the downward courses of the birth and death rates during the 19th century were more or less parallel.) In general, the death rate appears to be affected more immediately and automatically by industrialization. One may surmise that the birth rate responds more slowly because its reduction requires changes in more deeply seated customs. There is in most societies a consensus in favor of improving health and reducing the incidence of premature death. There is no such consensus for changes in attitudes and behavior needed to reduce the birth rate.

DECLINING FERTILITY AND MORTALITY IN OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED AREAS

The pattern of declining mortality and fertility that we have described for western Europe fits not only the western European countries upon which it is based but also, with suitable adjustment in the initial birth and death rates and in the time scale, eastern and southern Europe (with the exception of Albania), the Soviet Union, Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina, and New Zealand. In short, every country that has changed from a predominantly rural agrarian society to a predominantly industrial urban society and has extended public education to near-universality, at least at the primary school level, has had a major reduction in birth and death rates of the sort depicted in Figure 1 .

The jagged line describing the variable current birth rate represents in some instances—notably the United States—a major recovery in the birth rate from its low point. It must be remembered, however, that this recovery has not been caused by a reversion to uncontrolled family size. In the United States, for example, one can scarcely imagine that married couples have forgotten how to employ the contraceptive

techniques that reduced the birth rates to a level of mere replacement just before World War II. We know, in fact, that more couples are skilled in the use of contraception today than ever before. (Nevertheless, effective methods of controlling family size are still unknown and unused by many couples even in the United States.) The recent increase in the birth rate has been the result largely of earlier and more nearly universal marriage, the virtual disappearance of childless and one-child families, and a voluntary choice of two, three, or four children by a vast majority of American couples. There has been no general return to the very large family of pre-industrial times, although some segments of our society still produce many unwanted children.

POPULATION TRENDS IN LESS-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

We turn now to a comparison of the present situation in the less-developed areas with the demographic circumstances in western Europe prior to the industrial revolution. Figure 2 presents the trends of birth and death rates in the less-developed areas in a rough schematic way similar to that employed in Figure 1 . There are several important differences between the circumstances in today’s less-developed areas and those in pre-industrial Europe. Note first that the birth rate in the less-developed areas is higher than it was in pre-industrial western Europe. This difference results from the fact that in many less-developed countries almost all women at age 35 have married, and at an average age substantially less than in 18th-century Europe. Second, many of the less-developed areas of the world today are much more densely populated than was western Europe at the beginning of the industrial revolution. Moreover, there are few remaining areas comparable to North and South America into which a growing population could move and which could provide rapidly expanding markets. Finally, and most significantly, the death rate in the less-developed areas is dropping very rapidly—a decline that looks almost vertical compared to the gradual decline in western Europe—and without regard to economic change.

The precipitous decline in the death rate that is occurring in the low-income countries of the world is a consequence of the development and application of low-cost public health techniques. Unlike

Figure 2 . Schematic presentation of birth and death rates in less-developed countries, mid-20th century. (The steep drop in the death rate from approximately 35 per thousand began at times varying roughly between 1940 and 1960 from country to country.)

the countries of western Europe, the less-developed areas have not had to wait for the slow gradual development of medical science, nor have they had to await the possibly more rapid but still difficult process of constructing major sanitary engineering works and the build-up of a large inventory of expensive hospitals, public health

services, and highly trained doctors. Instead, the less-developed areas have been able to import low-cost measures of controlling disease, measures developed for the most part in the highly industrialized countries. The use of residual insecticides to provide effective protection against malaria at a cost of no more than 25 cents per capita per annum is an outstanding example. Other innovations include antibiotics and chemotherapy, and low-cost ways of providing safe water supplies and adequate environmental sanitation in villages that in most other ways remain relatively untouched by modernization. The death rate in Ceylon was cut in half in less than a decade, and declines approaching this in rapidity are almost commonplace.

The result of a precipitous decline in mortality while the birth rate remains essentially unchanged is, of course, a very rapid acceleration in population growth, reaching rates of three to three and one-half per cent. Mexico’s population, for example, has grown in recent years at a rate of approximately three and one-half per cent a year. This extreme rate is undoubtedly due to temporary factors and would stabilize at not more than three per cent. But even at three per cent per year, two centuries would see the population of Mexico grow to about 13.5 billion people. Two centuries is a long time, however. Might we not expect that long before 200 years had passed the population of Mexico would have responded to modernization, as did the populations of western Europe, by reducing the birth rate? A positive answer might suggest that organized educational efforts to reduce the birth rate are not necessary. But there is a more immediate problem demanding solution in much less than two centuries: Is the current demographic situation in the less-developed countries impeding the process of modernization itself? If so, a course of action that would directly accelerate the decline in fertility becomes an important part of the whole development effort which is directed toward improving the quality of each individual’s life.

POPULATION TRENDS AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES

The combination of high birth rates and low or rapidly declining death rates now found in the less-developed countries implies two different characteristics of the population that have important impli-

cations for the pace of their economic development. One important characteristic is rapid growth, which is the immediate consequence of the large and often growing difference between birth and death rates; the other is the heavy burden of child dependency which results from a high birth rate whether death rates are high or low. A reduced death rate has only a slight effect on the proportion of children in the population, and this effect is in a rather surprising direction. The kinds of mortality reduction that have actually occurred in the world have the effect, if fertility remains unchanged, of reducing rather than increasing the average age of the population.

Mortality reduction produces this effect because the largest increases occur in the survival of infants, and, although the reduction in mortality increases the number of old persons, it increases the number of children even more. The result is that the high fertility found in low-income countries produces a proportion of children under fifteen of 40 to 45 per cent of the total population, compared to 25 per cent or less in most of the industrialized countries.

What do these characteristics of rapid growth and very large proportions of children imply about the capacity to achieve rapid industrialization? It must be noted that it is probably technically possible in every less-developed area to increase national output at rates even more rapid than the very rapid rates of population increase we have discussed, at least for a few years. The reason at least slight increases in per capita income appear feasible is that the low-income countries can import industrial and agricultural technology as well as medical technology. Briefly, the realistic question in the short run does not seem to be whether some increases in per capita income are possible while the population grows rapidly, but rather whether rapid population growth is a major deterrent to a rapid and continuing increase in per capita income.

A specific example will clarify this point. If the birth rate in India is not reduced, its population will probably double in the next 25 or 30 years, increasing from about 450 million to about 900 million. Agricultural experts consider it feasible within achievable limits of capital investment to accomplish a doubling of Indian agricultural output within the next 20 to 25 years. In the same period the output of the non-agricultural part of the Indian economy probably would be slightly more than doubled if the birth rate remained unchanged.

For a generation at least, then, India’s economic output probably can stay ahead of its maximum rate of population increase. This bare excess over the increase in population, however, is scarcely a satisfactory outcome of India’s struggle to achieve economic betterment. The real question is: Could India and the other less-developed areas of the world do substantially better if their birth rates and thus their population growth rates were reduced? Economic analysis clearly indicates that the answer is yes. Any growth of population adds to the rate of increase of national output that must be achieved in order to increase per capita output by any given amount.

To double per capita output in 30 years requires an annual increase in per capita output of 2.3 per cent; if population growth is three per cent a year, then the annual increase in national output must be raised to 5.3 per cent to achieve the desired level of economic growth. In either instance an economy, to grow, must divert effort and resources from producing for current consumption to the enhancement of future productivity. In other words, to grow faster an economy must raise its level of net investment. Net investment is investment in factories, roads, irrigation networks, and fertilizer plants, and also in education and training. The low-income countries find it difficult to mobilize resources for these purposes for three reasons: The pressure to use all available resources for current consumption is great; rapid population growth adds very substantially to the investment targets that must be met to achieve any given rate of increase in material well-being; and the very high proportions of children that result from high fertility demand that a larger portion of national output must be used to support a very large number of non-earning dependents. These dependents create pressure to produce for immediate consumption only. In individual terms, the family with a large number of children finds it more difficult to save, and a government that tries to finance development expenditures out of taxes can expect less support from a population with many children. Moreover, rapid population growth and a heavy burden of child dependency divert investment funds to less productive uses—that is, less productive in the long run. To achieve a given level of literacy in a population much more must be spent on schools. In an expanding population of large families, construction effort must go into housing rather than into factories or power plants.

Thus the combination of continued high fertility and greatly reduced mortality in the less-developed countries raises the levels of investment required while impairing the capacity of the economy to achieve high levels of investment. Economists have estimated that a gradual reduction in the rate of childbearing, totaling 50 per cent in 30 years, would add about 40 per cent to the income per consumer that could be achieved by the end of that time.

To recapitulate, a short-term increase in per capita income may be possible in most less-developed areas, even if the fertility rate is not reduced. Nevertheless, even in the short run, progress will be much faster and more certain if the birth rate falls. In the longer run, economic progress will eventually be stopped and reversed unless the birth rate declines or the death rate increases. Economic progress will be slower and more doubtful if less-developed areas wait for the supposedly inevitable impact of modernization on the birth rate. They run the risk that rapid population growth and adverse age distribution would themselves prevent the achievement of the very modernization they count on to bring the birth rate down.

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Solutions to overpopulation and what you can do

| February 27, 2019 | Leave a Comment

Item Link: Access the Resource

Date of Publication: February 22, 2019

Author(s): The Overpopulation Project

Here at The Overpopulation Project, we try to keep a positive outlook. Although many environmental trends are grim, there exist clear paths forward toward a more sustainable world: one where people steward resources for the future and share habitat and resources generously with other species.

Recently, a correspondent wrote challenging us to identify  solutions  to the demographic and environmental problems we write about. We appreciate the reminder to remain forward looking and in response share the ideas below. Obviously, no one person or organization can cover all these efforts. But each of us can do something and together we can create a sustainable world.

These are personal and policy suggestions that we and others study. Some points are obvious, others fairly well established, but all need more research. If you are a scientist or scholar, one of the most important actions to take is to address population matters in your research, or join other researchers who are doing so.

What suggestions would you add or take off this list? Which ideas need further research? We would love to hear from you!

Actions on the individual level

• Have fewer children! One is good, two is enough – read more  here
• Consider adoption!
• Read, educate yourself about population issues – read more  here
• Reduce your personal consumption: go vegan, limit flying, share your household with others, and  more
• Educate your teenage child(ren) about sex and contraception early, without taboos
• Spread your knowledge and concern among your friends and family, raise awareness about overpopulation on social media – read more  here
• Donate to family planning programs in your own or other countries – for example to  International Planned Parenthood ,  FP2020  or another equally deserving organization
• Vote for politicians who acknowledge the detrimental impacts of population growth and propose political solutions

Actions on the community level

• Join local environmental groups, encouraging them to “connect the dots” between population and the environment and address population issues
• Write opinion pieces for local newspapers, contact local media sources requesting more reporting on population issues – create demand!
• Municipalities should set growth management boundaries, discouraging sprawl development on their fringes
• Towns and cities should purchase surrounding lands, or the development rights to such lands, in order to set them aside as nature preserves and open space
• City councils should pass resolutions accepting limits to growth, and directing their national governments to develop policies to stabilize or reduce national populations

Actions on the national level

In high fertility developing countries, governments should …  

• Generously fund family planning programs
• Make modern contraception legal, free and available everywhere, even in remote areas
• Improve health care to reduce infant and child mortality
• Restrict child marriage and raise the legal age of marriage (minimum 18 years)
• Introduce obligatory education as long as possible (minimum until the age of 16), and generously fund the necessary infrastructure

In low fertility developed countries, governments should …  

• Embrace rather than fight aging and shrinking societies – read more  here
• Reorganize pensions and other socio-economic systems to accommodate aging societies
• Eliminate baby bonuses, government funding for fertility treatments, and other incentives to raise fertility rates
• Reduce immigration numbers (at least to a level that will stabilize national populations, preferably to one that will lower them) – read our blog  here
• Reduce resource consumption and pollution through an effective mix of taxes, incentives and regulations

I n every country, governments should …  

• Empower women, assuring equal rights, treatment and opportunities for both genders
• Provide information and access to reproductive health care, including all types of low cost, safe, effective contraception – read more  here
• Make sterilization free, for men and women, or at least covered under all healthcare plans
• Legalize abortion without restrictions or social stigma – read our blog  here
• Integrate family planning and safe motherhood programs into primary health care systems
• Make population and environmental issues and sex education part of the basic educational curriculum
• Disincentivize third and further children non-coercively, by limiting government support to the first two children
• Create a national population policy built around an  optimal population size , and work to achieve it
• Set aside half the national landscape free from intensive development and dedicated to biodiversity protection – read more  here

Actions on the global level

• Make “ending population growth” one of the UN  Sustainable Development Goals  – read our blog  here
• Greatly increase the amount of foreign aid going to family planning – learn more  here
• Change the current foreign aid distribution, giving more support for health and education, while ending international military aid – read more  here
• Global religious leaders should approve modern contraception methods and forcefully reject a fatalistic view of procreation – read more  here
• Financially support media programs designed to change social norms to bolster family planning, best example is  Population Media Center
• Hold a new  global population conference , the first in twenty-five years, to reaffirm the ecological need to limit human numbers and the basic human right to family planning
• Connect family planning to international environmental and development funding; e.g., include family planning in the  Green Climate Fund
• Create a new global treaty to end population growth, with all countries choosing population targets every half decade with a plan on how to achieve them (similar to the  NDC  format) – read our blog  here
• Create an online platform similar to the  ClimateWatch  platform, where visitors can see countries’ goals, plans and achievements to date

Essay on Population Growth for Students and Children

500+ words essay on population growth.

There are currently 7.7 billion people on our planet. India itself has a population of 1.3 billion people. And the population of the world is rising steadily year on year. This increase in the population, i.e. the number of people inhabiting our planet is what we call population growth. In this essay on population growth, we will see the reasons and the effects of this phenomenon on our planet and our societies.

One important feature of population growth is that over the last century it has shown exponential growth. When the pattern of increase is by a fixed quantity, we call this linear growth, for example, 3, 5, 7, 9 and so on. Exponential growth shows an increase by a fixed percentage, for example, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on. This exponential growth is the reason our population has seen such an immense increase over the past century and a half.

Causes of Population Growth

To fully understand the phenomenon, in this essay on population growth we will discuss some of its causes. Understanding the reasons for such exponential growth will help us better understand how to plan for the future. So let us begin with one of the main causes, which is the decline in the mortality rate.

Over the last century, we have made some very significant and notable advancements in medicine, science, and technology. We have invented vaccines, found new treatments and even almost completely eradicated some life-threatening diseases. This means that people now have a much higher life expectancy than their ancestors.

Along with the decrease in mortality rate, these advancements in medicine and science have also boosted the birth rates. We now have ways to help those with infertility and reproductive problems. Hence, birth rates around the world have also seen massive improvements. This coupled with slowing mortality rates has caused overpopulation.

Often the lack of proper education is also stated as the culprit of rampant overpopulation. People around the world need to be made aware of the ill-effects of global overpopulation. Values of family planning and sustainable growth needs to be instilled not only in children but adults also. The lack of this awareness and education is one of the reasons for this growth in population.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Effects of Population Growth

This exponential population growth that our planet has experienced over the last 150 years has had some severe negative effects. The most obvious and common impact is that overpopulation has put a great strain on the natural resources of the earth. As we know, some of the resources available to us come in limited quantities, for example, fossil fuels. When the population explosion happened, these resources are becoming rarer and will one day run out completely.

The increased population had also lead to increased pollution and industrialization . This has adversely affected our natural environment leading to more health problems in the majority of the population. And as the population keeps growing, the poorer countries are running out of food and other resources causing famines and various such disasters.

And as we are currently noticing in India, overpopulation also leads to massive unemployment. Overall the economic and financial condition of densely populated regions deteriorates due to the population explosion.

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Essay on Population Explosion: Problems And Solutions for Class 10, 12 and Mains Exam

Essay on population explosion: problems and solutions for class 10, 12, mains exam (upsc, psc, ssc).

Introduction: ‘Population explosion’ or overpopulation refers to the rapid increase in the number of people living in an area. The rapid growth of population results from the high birth rate and the low death rate. India is the most populous country after China. It is the second most populated country in the world.  According to the 2021 census the current population of India is 1,400,000,000. Almost 500 people occupy an area of a square meter (2011 census). Over population is affecting the function of the Indian economy. As a result, the well being of people is being affected. In a state of population explosion, the economy of the country fails to provide the basic amenities to the people. Population explosion paves away to various social evils in the society. The masses remain in a state of poverty and unemployment due to which they engage in theft and robbery.

Problems of Population explosion: The increasing growth of population leaves a serious impact on the country’s economy and the society. India’s economic and social development have become crippled due to the rising population growth. The per capita income of the country has not risen remarkably and has remain irrevocable owing to population explosion.The major problems of population are discussed as follows:

• Problem of making investment: The increase in per capita income can be achieved only if there is more income to invest. This has detrimental effects on the economy’s growth rate. More of national income has to be invested in order to increase the per – capita income.
• Capital formation problem : Population explosion affects the growth of capital formation.High birth rate implies a greater number of dependents in the entire So, they remain inefficacious consumers. Hence the rate of capital formation falls.
• Low per-capita income: Due to the increase in population, the rate of per capita income of the country has fallen. This hampers the functioning of the economy.
• Food shortage: Increase in number of people means more mouths to feed. Due to low income or unemployment, the poor cannot afford food which affects their productivity and healthconditions. Low productivity implies low per capita income and hence they remain poverty stricken.
• Unemployment: The government fails to satiate the jobs needs of a large number of people.Disguised unemployment and open unemployment are found in the rural and urban areas respectively.
• Low standard of living: Since the income earned is insufficient, therefore people cannot afford the basic amenities of life. Hence, they cannot maintain their standard of living.
• Poverty: Increasing population creates poverty. Many remain unemployed for which they cannot afford food, living and shelter. So, they remain in a state of poverty.
• Pressure on Land: More population create pressure on land. The per capita availability of land decreases and the fragmentation of land holding increases.
• Social problems: Over population leads to social problem such as growth of slums where people live in unhygienic conditions. Unemployment and poverty lead to theft, beggary, robbery, child trafficking, child labour and prostitution.
• Environmental pollution: Overpopulation leads to environmental pollution such as air, water, land, soil and noise pollution.

Solutions of population explosion: The various remedies of population explosion are discussed below:

• Minimum age of marriage and late marriage: The minimum age of marriage in India has been legalized -for male be 21 and female is 18.  So,people should be made aware of this law. Late marriage reduces the reduces the reproduction period among females which decrease the birth rate.
• Improving the status of women: Women should be educated so that they can earn for themselves instead of staying within the confineshaving the notion of rearing and bearing children.
• Educating the masses: Education change the outlook of the people. Educated men and women prefer to do late marriage and adopt small family norms.
• Contraceptive pills and abortion: Use of contraceptives, abortion other birth control method help in lowering the birth rate.
• Creating employment opportunities: Generating more employment opportunities helps in eradicating unemployment which in turn control migration of people from one area to another.
• Increase of income for the employees: Increase in income of the employees will lessen the possibility of having more children who in turn is expected to help the family financially.
• Incentives: The government can provide incentives, promotion and leave facility to the working people to adopt small family norms.

Conclusion: It is high time to check the growth rate of human population. Population explosion is hindering the economic and the social progress of the country. Government of India has already taken important measures to slow down the population growth. However, some are not aware of the serious consequences of population growth. It is immensely essential to awaken awareness among the people and control population explosion.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Population — Family Planning as one of the Solutions to Overpopulation

Family Planning as One of The Solutions to Overpopulation

• Categories: Human Population Population Population Growth

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Published: Apr 2, 2020

Words: 674 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

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