GLOBAL IMPACTS ON WORLD POPULATION GROWTH
It took 10,000 years for the world's population to reach 1 billion, another 100 years to double to 2 billion and less than a century to more than triple to the 7.9 billion today. This increase in some of the human population is the last half century is unprecedented; and nearly all the growth is occurring in the developing countries. currently, 80 million people are being added every year to developing countries, compared with about 1.6 million in developed countries. While developing countries will keep growing, the more developed countries may grow slowly or not at all. Population change is linked to economic development, social interactions and the environment on a global level.
“We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now”
- Sir David Attenborough
Economic Impacts
Economists have suspected that population dynamics influence economic growth, employment and poverty, and the management of assets. The three principal categories of assets are physical (human-built infrastructure related to economic activity), natural (natural resources and the services they provide, including waste material and energy cycling), and human (health and educational status of citizens). These assets are what build and strengthen a countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of a countries overall economic output. If a country's GDP is rising, the economy is good and the nation is moving forward. If GDP is falling, the economy is in trouble and the nation is losing ground. From a strictly numerical perspective, GDP provides an easy-to-follow indicator of economic health. Advantages of having a higher GDP include high rates of employment, economic security and prosperity and higher health and living standards. Population growth can also decrease a country's GDP. The country, itself, may not have enough employment or labour for an increasing workforce leaving unemployment rates exponentially high. Having a lower GDP generally means it is a developing country which does not have the economic security of that of a country with a higher GDP or having the same living standards. Also, in having a higher population, the competitiveness for consumer based products in bound to increase.
Economists have suspected that population dynamics influence economic growth, employment and poverty, and the management of assets. The three principal categories of assets are physical (human-built infrastructure related to economic activity), natural (natural resources and the services they provide, including waste material and energy cycling), and human (health and educational status of citizens). These assets are what build and strengthen a countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of a countries overall economic output. If a country's GDP is rising, the economy is good and the nation is moving forward. If GDP is falling, the economy is in trouble and the nation is losing ground. From a strictly numerical perspective, GDP provides an easy-to-follow indicator of economic health. Advantages of having a higher GDP include high rates of employment, economic security and prosperity and higher health and living standards. Population growth can also decrease a country's GDP. The country, itself, may not have enough employment or labour for an increasing workforce leaving unemployment rates exponentially high. Having a lower GDP generally means it is a developing country which does not have the economic security of that of a country with a higher GDP or having the same living standards. Also, in having a higher population, the competitiveness for consumer based products in bound to increase.
Social Impacts
Within countries, we can credit the growth of the world's population to increased immigration or lack of migration. Lack of education and contraceptive use and the need or desire for more children also adds to the population. In more developed countries we can attribute the population rises to better medical care, thus a longer lifespan and/or fewer deaths. As a result of this overpopulation we experience social issues such as increased rates of poverty, crime, disease, and environmental problems such as increased global warming, natural disasters, loss of habitat, pollution, and more. In a day and age, where we can contact our friends and family while never leaving our computer screen, we may feel that we are being more sociable than ever. We can organise an event, virtual or not, and invite thousands of people, within a matter of minutes. And play a game of chess with a stranger on a far continent, via a handheld device. We can talk face to face in a video call, or give the world a news update by sharing a photo in seconds. In correlation with social issues, this new age approach of interaction has led the world to a more connected and globalised environment. It is these 'connections' that have encouraged relationships through websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Ebay. This lack of physical interaction means that they way we do interact in face to face situations is compromised due to the easiness, more importantly, availably to do so online.
Within countries, we can credit the growth of the world's population to increased immigration or lack of migration. Lack of education and contraceptive use and the need or desire for more children also adds to the population. In more developed countries we can attribute the population rises to better medical care, thus a longer lifespan and/or fewer deaths. As a result of this overpopulation we experience social issues such as increased rates of poverty, crime, disease, and environmental problems such as increased global warming, natural disasters, loss of habitat, pollution, and more. In a day and age, where we can contact our friends and family while never leaving our computer screen, we may feel that we are being more sociable than ever. We can organise an event, virtual or not, and invite thousands of people, within a matter of minutes. And play a game of chess with a stranger on a far continent, via a handheld device. We can talk face to face in a video call, or give the world a news update by sharing a photo in seconds. In correlation with social issues, this new age approach of interaction has led the world to a more connected and globalised environment. It is these 'connections' that have encouraged relationships through websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Ebay. This lack of physical interaction means that they way we do interact in face to face situations is compromised due to the easiness, more importantly, availably to do so online.
Environmental Impacts
Population growth can affect the biophysical environment in a number of ways. In societies that continue to pursue a subsistence lifestyle (growing just bought food for your own needs with nothing left over to sell), population pressure contributes to an intensification of land use, thus, deteriorating and depleting important natural resources. An increase in population will also affect public health through the limited availability of clean water, along with poor sanitation, which kills 12 million people annually, and air population. The supply of freshwater is finite, but demand for it will continue to soar as human population continues to grow meaning that in 2025, approx. 48 countries containing 3 billion people will face shortages. Ocean fisheries will be overexploited and a tide of pollution is rising the world's seas. Nearly half the world's original forest cover has been lost already, and each year another 16 million hectares are cut, bulldozed or burned. And climate change; the earths surface is warming due to greenhouse gas emissions. If the global temperature rises, sea levels would rise by several metres, causing widespread flooding. (Actionbioscience, 2014)
Population growth can affect the biophysical environment in a number of ways. In societies that continue to pursue a subsistence lifestyle (growing just bought food for your own needs with nothing left over to sell), population pressure contributes to an intensification of land use, thus, deteriorating and depleting important natural resources. An increase in population will also affect public health through the limited availability of clean water, along with poor sanitation, which kills 12 million people annually, and air population. The supply of freshwater is finite, but demand for it will continue to soar as human population continues to grow meaning that in 2025, approx. 48 countries containing 3 billion people will face shortages. Ocean fisheries will be overexploited and a tide of pollution is rising the world's seas. Nearly half the world's original forest cover has been lost already, and each year another 16 million hectares are cut, bulldozed or burned. And climate change; the earths surface is warming due to greenhouse gas emissions. If the global temperature rises, sea levels would rise by several metres, causing widespread flooding. (Actionbioscience, 2014)