Since we hit the one billion mark in 1804, we have seen an explosive increase in the world population. In the past 12 years alone, the population has increased by over one billion and now, according to the United Nations, has reached seven billion. Reasons for this include plunging infant and maternal mortality rates as well as soaring life expectancy. Three hundred years ago, most people would be lucky to see middle age, but now, the average person’s lifespan is expected to extend to their seventies.
Our soaring population reflects the tremendous advances ushered in by modern technology. In the early 20th century, the development of the Haber-Bosch process to synthesize ammonia-based fertilizers kick-started the global population. Agricultural output skyrocketed, enabling billions more humans to be sated with food. Additionally, revolutionary changes in the availability of medical resources have further increased survival rates. For example, previously menacing diseases such as smallpox and the bubonic plague have been heavily tamed through vaccination and sanitation programs.
Unfortunately, these advancements have been outpaced by the devastation wrought by overpopulation. The crippling force of overpopulation is almost exclusively felt by the poorest nations on Earth. Currently, the populations of most developed nations are actually shrinking. Despite incredibly low infant mortality rates and very high life expectancies, people in developed nations are having very few children. The Canadian fertility rate is 1.66 births per woman. Contrast this with an impoverished nation, such as Niger, where the fertility rate is a whopping 7.12 births per woman. Rampant poverty, unemployment, disease, and malnourishment are all banes of the modern developing world and are worsened by overpopulation.
Knowing that half of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day, or that over one billion people are starving, makes it easy to posit that the earth is overpopulated. Current population growth models provide little room for optimism since the world population is set to hit nine billion in 2043. Africa, the world’s poorest continent, is set to double in population between 2010 and 2050. The United Nations believes the world’s population is growing too quickly and is currently engaged in birth control promotion and family planning initiatives in the world’s poorest nations. These educational programs are vital to quelling population growth and will certainly go a long way in reducing economic suffering.
[pullquote]overpopulation has reared its ugly head in many parts of the world[/pullquote]
Yet, the real problems faced by developing nations cannot necessarily be pinned solely on overpopulation. According to United Nations University data from 2006, the world’s richest one per cent owns 40 per cent of the world’s wealth and resources. This unjustifiable gap between the rich and the poor is undoubtedly exacerbating the population dilemma. If these resources and wealth were fairly distributed, issues such as global hunger could easily be eliminated. Sadly, global economic hardship has led to significant decreases in foreign aid from developed nations to crowded developing nations.
The world’s population is increasing drastically and overpopulation has reared its ugly head in many parts of the world. Simply reducing population growth through family planning initiatives will not solve all future problems. Instead, it is essential that significant changes occur in the distribution of wealth between developed and developing nations. Until then, an expanding population may be more of a problem than a cause for celebration.
