LESSON 12: GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY and

GLOBAL POPULATION

It’s no good blaming climate change or

food shortages or political corruption. Sorry to
be neo-Malthusian about it, but continuing
population growth in this region makes
periodic famine unavoidable… Many of the
children saved by the money raised over the
next few weeks will inevitably be back again in
similar feeding centers with their own children
in a few years’ time.

He seems certain that If we try to look

further in Somalia the rapid population growth made famine there ‘unavoidable’. Yes, it’s true.
The land area of the earth is finite, with a limited ‘carrying capacity’, cannot continue to feed a
growing population indefinitely. From such a perspective, the provision of humanitarian aid to
famine-afflicted countries, however well intended, represents only a temporary fix. In this view it
fails to address the fundamental issue: there simply being too many mouths to feed.

If population is the topic, many would associate the name Thomas Robert Malthus
(1766- 1834) English political economist. Malthus is famous for the assertion that in the absence
of ‘preventative checks’ to reduce birth rates, the natural tendency for populations to increase –
being ‘so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man’ – ultimately results
in ‘positive checks’ that increase the death rate. If all else fails to curb population, ‘gigantic
inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow levels the population with the food
of the world.’

The author, however, has a different outlook in this problem. Yes, there is a need to look
into the relationship between population growth and famine, as well as between population
growth and hunger. But never to forget the way the distribution of resources being done. If the
farmers are the one producing the food, why most of them are poor and suffering from hunger?
Who is getting rich from their produce? This is the most accurate way of looking at the issue
rather than to say overpopulation begets world feminine. To have a better grasp of the topic, let
us study different concepts one after the other.

1. Global Population

In demographics, the term "World Population" refers to the human population (the

total number of humans currently living) of the world. The current world population is 7.8
billion as of September 2020 according to the most recent United Nations estimates gathered by

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Worldometer. (Worldometers, is a reference website that provides counters and real-time
statistics for diverse topics. It is owned and operated by data company Dadax).

It took over 200,000 years of human history for the world's population to reach
1 billion, and only 200 years more to reach 7 billion.

The world population has experienced continuous growth following the Great Famine of

1315–1317 and the end of the Black Death in 1350, when it was near 370 million. The highest
global population growth rates, with increases of over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955
and 1975 – peaking to 2.1% between 1965 and 1970. The growth rate declined to 1.2%
between 2010 and 2015 and is projected to decline further in the course of the 21st
century. However, the global population is still increasing and is projected to reach about 10
billion in 2050 and more than 11 billion in 2100 (www.ourworldindata.org).

As of 1 September 2021, 4:30 pm (Philippine Time)

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Source: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population

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https://

www.worldometers.info/world-population

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2. OVERPOPULATION: THE CAUSES, EFFECTS AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Over the last half century, the population of the world has exploded. At the time of writing
there are more than seven billion people on the planet and this number is projected to grow in a
short period of time.

Of all of the environmental challenges facing the planet today overpopulation is one that
sometimes slips under the radar. Issues like pollution, climate change and water shortages all
seem to take precedence, but overpopulation is one of the main contributors to many other
environmental issues.

Overpopulation will place great demands on resources and land, leading to widespread
environmental issues in addition to impacting global economies and standards of living.
The issue is compounded by the difficulty in providing solutions for this problem and
misunderstanding of the causes and effects of overpopulation.

Here we will cover both causes and effects of overpopulation in order for you to have a
more informed view of the risks that come with it.

The Causes
There are a number of factors that contribute to overpopulation according to an
independent media www.renewableresourcescoalition.org. These are the leading causes:

1. Poverty: Poverty is believed to be the leading cause of overpopulation. A lack of educational

resources, coupled with high death rates leading to higher birth rates, result in impoverished
areas seeing large booms in population.
The effect is so extensive that the UN has predicted that the forty-eight poorest countries
in the world are also likely to be the biggest contributors to population growth. Their estimates
state that the combined population of these countries is likely to balloon to 1.7 billion in 2050,
from 850 million in 2010.

2. Fertility Treatment: Though it only plays a minor role in comparison to the other causes of
overpopulation, improved fertility treatments have made it possible for more people to have
children.
The number of women using various fertility treatments has been on the rise since their
inception. Now most have the option of conceiving children, even if they may not have been
able to do so without such treatments.

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3. Poverty, Poor Contraceptive Use: Though the availability of contraceptives is widespread in
developed countries, poor planning on both partners’ parts can lead to unexpected pregnancies.
Statistics have shown that in Great Britain 76% of women aged between 16 and 49 used at
least one form of contraceptive, leaving a quarter open to unexpected pregnancies.
This issue is exacerbated in underdeveloped areas. A study by the World Health
Organization (WHO) shows that this usage figure drops to 43% in countries that are blighted by
issues like poverty, which leads to higher birth rates.

4. Child Labor: As distressing as it may be to hear, child labor is still used extensively in many
parts of the world. UNICEF estimates that approximately 150 million children are currently
working, primarily in countries that have few child labor laws.
This can result in children being seen as a source of income by impoverished families.
Furthermore, children who begin work too young also lose the educational opportunities they
should be granted, particularly when it comes to birth control.

5. Reduced Mortality Rates: Improvement in medical technology has led to lower mortality
rates for many serious diseases. Particularly dangerous viruses and ailments such as polio,
smallpox and measles have been practically eradicated by such advances.
While this is positive news in many ways, it also means that people are living longer than
ever before. This “delay” in the cycle of life and death has led to birth rates outstripping death
rates by over two to one in modern times.

7. Immigration: Unchecked immigration into countries may lead to overpopulation to the point
where those countries no longer have the required resources for their population. This is
particularly problematic in countries where immigration numbers far exceed emigration
numbers.
In some cases, immigrants may be attempting to escape overpopulation in their own
countries, only to contribute to the same issues in the countries they move to.

The Effects
Overpopulation can have a number of effects, most of which are negative as examined
below.

1. Lack of Water: Overpopulation creates greater demand on the world’s freshwater supplies.
As only roughly 1% of the world’s water is fresh and accessible, this creates a major issue.

Some estimates state that human demand for fresh water will stand at approximately
70% of what is available on the planet by 2025. This will place those living in impoverished
areas that already have limited access to such water at great risk.

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2. Lower Life Expectancy: While higher life expectancy is leading to increases in population in
developed countries, lower life expectancy may be caused by the booms in population that less
developed nations are experiencing.
A large proportion of the world’s population growth occurs in less developed countries.
This stretches the resources these countries have thinner resulting in less access to medical
care, fresh water, food and jobs, all resulting in a fall in life expectancy.

3. Extinction: The effect of overpopulation on the world’s wildlife is also a major issue. As
demand for land grows, so too does the destruction of natural habitats, such as forests.
Some scientists warn that if present trends continue, as many as 50% of the world’s
wildlife species will be at risk of extinction. Data has also been collected to show that there is a
direct link between increases in human population and decreases in the number of species on
the planet.

4. Resource Consumption: As the population grows, so too does the amount of resources
needed to keep so many people alive. Food, water and fossil fuels are all being consumed
at record rates, placing greater demands on producers and the planet itself.
Ironically, it is the discovery of many of these natural resources – particularly fossil fuels
– that have contributed to conditions that are favorable to population growth. A study has
shown that the world’s ecosystem changed more rapidly in the latter-half of the twentieth
century than at any other point in history because of increased use of these resources.

5. Increased Intensive Farming: As population has grown over the years, farming practices
have evolved to produce enough food to feed larger numbers of people. However, intensive
farming methods also cause damage to local ecosystems and the land, which may pose
problems in the future.
Furthermore, intensive farming is also considered a major contributor to climate
change due to the machinery required. This effect will likely intensify if the population continues
to grow at its current rate.

6. Faster Climate Change: Overpopulation directly correlates to climate change, particularly as

larger nations, like China and India, continue to develop their industrial capacities. They now
rank as two of the three largest contributors to emissions in the world, alongside the United
States.
Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the scientific community agrees that human activities are
changing global temperatures. Larger populations may speed these changes up, especially if
more is not done to reduce individual carbon footprints on a wide scale.

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Potential Solutions
So now we know more about overpopulation and the effects it can have, but what can be
done about it? There are a number of proposed solutions.

1. Empower women and education on the subject

Studies show that women with access to reproductive health services find it easier to break out
of poverty, while those who work are more likely to use birth control. The United Nations
Population Fund aims to tackle both issues at once, running microcredit projects to turn young
women into advocates for reproductive health.
While a number of organizations exist to provide schools with curricula and teaching
materials to cover the subject of overpopulation, it is still a subject that is not covered in schools
as well as it should be.
This education should extend beyond talking about sex and into the global
consequences of overpopulation. Dialog about the subject needs to be more open, with sites
like debate.org offering useful resources that allow the issue to be confronted rationally.

2. Promote family planning and access to contraceptives

Simply educating men and women about contraception can have a big impact. When Iran
introduced a national family planning programme in 1989, its fertility rate fell from 5.6 births per
woman to 2.6 in a decade. A similar effort in Rwanda saw a threefold increase in contraception
usage in just five years.
Access to birth control must go hand-in-hand with better sex education. After all, without
it people cannot put what they have learned into practice.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 225 million women who are living in
the developing countries would prefer to postpone giving birth but are not using any form of
contraception. Many organizations, such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists (ACOG), also support improving access to contraceptives.

3. Make education entertaining or better sex Education

The US-based Population Media Center gets creative to reach women. Its radio soap
operas, which feature culturally specific stories about reproductive issues, have been heard by
as many as 500 million people in 50 countries. In Ethiopia, 63 per cent of women seeking
reproductive health services reported tuning in.
A lack of sex education – or poorly-implemented education – has led to overpopulation
issues in many countries. The issue is so pronounced that the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) is calling for improvements to be made, particularly in poorer areas of the world.
Better education will help people understand more about the potential consequences of
having sex as they relate to child birth. It will also do away with many of the myths that surround
the sexual act and introduce scientifically-proven methods of birth control.

4. Government incentives and changes in policy

The Population Commission shall be more aggressive in fulfilling their mandates. The
NGO’s and People’s Organizations whose advocacy may be related to the promotion of family

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and children’s welfare hereby encourage to collaborate and to promote “responsible
parenthood”.
Many nations offer rewards, whether in the form of financial incentives or increased
benefits, to those who have more children. This may lead to some couples having more children
than they otherwise would if they needed to worry about the financial consequences.

5) One-child legislation
During China’s highly controversial one-child policy, fertility fell from six births per woman in the
1960s to 1.5 in 2014. However, Amnesty International reports that the policy led to coerced or
forced abortions and sterilizations. It also disrupted traditional support structures for the elderly
and led to a gender imbalance.
This is a difficult issue to confront. China’s “One-Child’ policy was recently abandoned, in
part, because of the restrictions it placed on freedom, and it is likely that similar policies
would be seen as equally restrictive.

Overpopulation is a crisis that potentially stands alongside climate change as one of the
biggest challenges facing humanity today.

Despite this, there is little in the way of education or dialog relating to the issue,
particularly in schools nor information drive in the many forms of social media.

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 EVALUATION

Name: ____________________________________ Section: __________________

INSTRUCTION: Discuss the following (100-200 words only)

A. How movement of people contributes to the problem of global population?

B. Do you agree that ‘sex education’ subject be taught in the grade 10 to grade 12?
C. Tiktok: create a 2 mins. story about a well-planned family (submit a screen shot and the link

REFERENCES:

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https://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/overpopulation-causes-effects-solutions/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987379/
https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/469/development/factors-effect-population-size-and-growth/
https://theaseanpost.com/article/youth-philippines-prefer-working-overseas
https://www.positive.news/society/5-possible-solutions-overpopulation/
https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2016/december/link-fertility-income
https://centerformigrantadvocacy.com/philippine-migration

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