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.
Conclusion
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.
