OVER-POPULATION AND UNDER-POPULATION

1. Over population: when the total number of people living in a country is more than
the available resources in a country is considered as over population. Eg: Nigeria
2. Under population: when the total number of people living in a country is less than
the available resources in a country is considered as under population. Eg: Australia.
3. Optimum population: the size of population that permits the full utilization of the
natural resources of an area, giving maximum per capita output and standard of
living. (the availability of resources are enough for the total population living in a
country)
Case study 1: Niger: Over-populated country
The Republic of Niger is a land-locked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Its
climate is mainly very hot and dry with many desert areas. It is an LEDC, and is one of the
poorest countries in the world. The population of Niger has grown from 1.7 millions in 1960
to over 13 millions in 2008. With a high population growth rate of 2.9% it is expected to
reach 56 millions by 2050. Niger has the highest fertility rate in the world with 7.1 births per
woman. About 90% of the total workforce is engaged in agriculture; industry 6% and
services 4%. The birth rate is 49.6 and the death rate is 20.3.
The problems faced by people in the country. (Or the problems faced by people in
countries which are overpopulated)

 People do not have enough natural resources or raw materials

 There will be lack of fuel/power (or example such as electricity)
 Lack of work and poverty prevails
 There is not enough food supplies and people suffer from starvation and famine
 There is poor access to education
 There is poor access to health care; only a few hospitals
 High levels of disease and high death rates prevails
 Housing are overcrowded and not enough space for housing
 Many squatter settlements are found
 There is traffic congestion
 There is atmospheric and water pollution causing health problems
 There is inadequate water supply; lack of sanitation
 The agricultural land are overused
 There is overgrazing and disputes over agricultural land or places to live.

Case study 2: Australia: The consequences of under-population

Australia has only 20 million people with an area of 7.7 million sq.km. The population
density of Australia is only 0.4% per sq.km. Many areas of Australia are empty and the
resources are not being used fully. The successive Australian governments have tried to
increase its population, to develop the country economically and to protect it from foreign
influences.
The consequences of under-population

 There will be less working people in the country.

 The economic growth will be stagnant due to lack of working people.
 The available resources will be unexploited fully.
 There will be lack of people in the defence.
 There will be huge expenses on old age people for old age home and other
maintenances.
 One of the positive aspects of under-population could be no unemployment like in
those over-population countries.
 There will be no pressure on social services and everyone will get proper
infrastructures and other facilities.
 There will be no overcrowding and the environment of the country will be more
peaceful and cleaner.
Indonesia: Rapid growth of population
Indonesia is the 4th largest population in the world, and the Government of Indonesia is
worried and concern about its rapid population growth. The government of Indonesia had
introduced family planning and taken up other measures to reduce its rapid population
growth. However, due to many other reasons, the population is alarmingly growing its
population.
Some of the reasons that caused problems due to rapid growth of population may be
mentioned as:

 Lack of job opportunities - Indonesia is not a well-developed country and the

majority of the population is depending on primary sector. The total number of
workforce in secondary sector and tertiary sectors are comparatively less. Indonesia
has a large population but the job opportunities is quite less, and may people do not
have sustainable job for their daily life. The lack of availability of work leads to
poverty.
 Inadequate food supplies – Many people are very poor due to lack of job
opportunities in the industries and other sectors. Many people lived in shanty
houses where there is not any proper drainage and safe drinking water. Due to lack
of job opportunities, people do not get enough food supplies which cause death by
malnutrition.
 Poor access to education – poor access to education is making people remain
unqualified and finding to find job in MNC and TNC. Due to lack of proper education,
there is less skill and expert workforce and the resources are also unexploited.
 Poor access to health care – there is no enough Doctors and hospital to meet the
high annual population and its rapid growth of population. The poor access o health
care leads to high death rates.
 Traffic congestion – the traffic congestion is becoming one of the serious problems
especially in Jakarta. Every the number of population added due to the natural
growth of population and due to lots of migration from rural areas to Jakarta city.
The number of vehicles are increasing every, which is leading to traffic congestion.
 Inadequate water – as the city Jakarta is located on the Island, the drinking water is
difficult to tap from the ground due to high present of salt. People have to buy
drinking water and the poor people cannot afford to buy drinking water. Drinking
water is another rare commodity for the people living in the Island.
 Overcrowded housing – there is no enough housing for the immigrants from the
other Island to Jakarta and thus squatter settlements are found in many parts of the
city. There is no enough basic amenities due to overcrowded housing in the city.

In addition to above mentioned problems, there are also some other problems like
air pollution, drainage problem etc. Whenever there is heavy rainfall in the city like
Jakarta, floods occur in many parts of the city.