Overpopulation:
Overpopulation has become more of a prominent issue as resources have decreased and the population approaches estimated carrying capacities. There are many issues with overpopulation. In many overpopulated countries, education is often worse and the standard of living is often lower than in more populated countries. Jobs become scarcer as more and more people take them. People have looked into many ways this issue can be mitigated in order to solve world hunger and to save other natural resources. Some of the biggest have been preventing births altogether. In 1979, the One-Child Policy in China was instituted which allowed couples to have only one child. This policy has continued until today and has greatly reduced the population in China. However, it was recently revised to allow couples consisting of only people without siblings to have up to two children. well. Also, India developed a system in which it rewards couples by giving them 5000 rupees, about $106, if they wait to have children for 2 years. Other areas in India have disqualified people from public office if they have more than two children. Uzbekistan is another country where population growth is a concern. A method that was developed was having doctors give sterilizations to women after they had their second child. However, there were many issues with this, as it was done without the woman’s consent, or her awareness that this would be happening. Another similar case to this was a period of time where people in the US with “undesirable traits” were forcibly sterilized. This policy also limited immigration of people from “undesirable countries.” This movement mainly targeted people with illnesses or disabilities in order to remove these traits from the gene pool. This eventually ceased in the 1970s as it was cruel to people for mere disabilities or race.
Abortions have also played a large role in reducing population growth as they have led to great decreases in birth rates. Abortions are now present in many countries. It is approximated that in developing countries above 500 abortions per 1000 births is necessary, and in already developed countries between 251-500 abortions per 1000 births would keep the population growth below 1%. One of the biggest parts of controlling overpopulation is to provide sufficient education. In many countries where population growth is low there is strong education. Education teaches people the consequences of unprotected sex and focuses on how to avoid it. Fortunately, some of our efforts are paying off. The percent growth in world population reached its peak in 1968 at 2.09% and, with a few minor increases, has been decreasing ever since. It reached all the way down to 1.14% in 2016. This decrease has resulted in significant impacts in the world population, and, hopefully, will continue until the point where population growth is nonexistent.
Sources:
Information on China's One Child Policy: Link
World Population Policies: Link
Overview on Abortions (Effects on Population): Link
Population Growth Rates
Our world’s population has been increasing at a very high rate for a long time. From 1999 to current day, the world’s population has increased by over 1.5 billion people. This massive increase can be accounted for from the high population growth rates in less developed countries. However, there are also many countries that have low rates of population growth (generally more developed countries), but their decline in growth still has not changed the overall trend of population growth in our world. The five countries with the highest rates of population growth in 2017 are Lebanon, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Jordan, and Qatar with growth rates of 9.37%, 4.26%, 4.12%, 3.86%, and 3.58% respectively. While the five countries with the lowest rates of population growth are Syria, Cook Islands, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Moldova, and Bulgaria with growth rates of -9.73%, -3%, -1.02%, -1.02%, and -0.83% respectively. The five countries with the highest population growth rates are located in either Sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East. While, the five countries with the lowest rate of population growth are located in Eastern Europe, (islands of New Zealand), and islands in the Americas.
There are plethora of possible reasons for the high population growth rates in the aforementioned countries. One of the most prominent issues those countries most likely face is a lack of contraceptives and birth control options. Consequently, there will be a multitude of babies born each year making the population of the country grow exponentially. For example, in 2015 Lebanon had a rate of natural increase ((crude birth rate - crude death rate) / 10) of 10.38 whereas the world’s average rate of natural increase was 1.07 in 2016. It is clear that there is a wide margin between the number of births people in Lebanon and other high population growth rate countries have compared to the average country. Another possible reason for such high population growth rates is the lack of education in these less developed countries. A large portion of people within these countries with high population growth rates are generally less educated and have lower literacy rates. As a result, they are not able to understand the adverse effects of overpopulation and that procreating rapidly isn’t sustainable for the future. One possible explanation for countries with very low population growth or negative growth is large amounts of emigration and an aging population. As the population in each countries ages and birth rates decline, the population growth rate will inevitably decrease.
We need to be more aware of our world population as it continues to grow at a fast rate. Based on our logistic regression we predict that our population will hit our estimated carrying capacity of 10 billion in 2054. If this increasing trend continues, there will be significant repercussions that could negatively impact the world.
Sources:
Highest Population Growth Rates Data: Link
List of Population Growth Rates: Link
Rate of Natural Increase for Lebanon: Link
World Population Growth Rate Map: Link
There are plethora of possible reasons for the high population growth rates in the aforementioned countries. One of the most prominent issues those countries most likely face is a lack of contraceptives and birth control options. Consequently, there will be a multitude of babies born each year making the population of the country grow exponentially. For example, in 2015 Lebanon had a rate of natural increase ((crude birth rate - crude death rate) / 10) of 10.38 whereas the world’s average rate of natural increase was 1.07 in 2016. It is clear that there is a wide margin between the number of births people in Lebanon and other high population growth rate countries have compared to the average country. Another possible reason for such high population growth rates is the lack of education in these less developed countries. A large portion of people within these countries with high population growth rates are generally less educated and have lower literacy rates. As a result, they are not able to understand the adverse effects of overpopulation and that procreating rapidly isn’t sustainable for the future. One possible explanation for countries with very low population growth or negative growth is large amounts of emigration and an aging population. As the population in each countries ages and birth rates decline, the population growth rate will inevitably decrease.
We need to be more aware of our world population as it continues to grow at a fast rate. Based on our logistic regression we predict that our population will hit our estimated carrying capacity of 10 billion in 2054. If this increasing trend continues, there will be significant repercussions that could negatively impact the world.
Sources:
Highest Population Growth Rates Data: Link
List of Population Growth Rates: Link
Rate of Natural Increase for Lebanon: Link
World Population Growth Rate Map: Link