The current world population is over 6 billion, half of the population lives in poverty. The global population trends have been increasing drastically and it is estimated that in fifty years time the world population will be about between 9 billion. The rapid global population increase has put humanity and the world at peril.
Overpopulation will lead to a number of problems in the world. To begin with, the environment will face the problem of air and water pollution. Habitats will be destroyed to create room for human habitation thus less cropland.
Due to dropping water table, levels and rising temperatures there will be a shortage of food. Water scarcity will be a major challenge because of the uneven distribution of safe drinking water. People with no access to clean water will die of water borne diseases. The natural resources will face exhaustion due to the great pressure of the population.
People will have to shift to cities and urban. The rapid urbanization will put a strain on governments’ ability to provide basic services such as sewerage, water, electricity and infrastructure. It is projected that more than half of the world’s total population will be living in urban areas. The scarcity of resources may lead to conflict as people complete for the available ones.
For instance, China the most populous nation in the world will increase in population despite its one child policy. This will lead to enormous demand for resources. The country will face a problem of feeding its population due to reduced food production because of reduced water levels and the rising temperatures due to global warming.
It will be forced to depend on other countries for its food supply especially on the United States which is a world major grain producer accounting for more than half of the world’s total grain production (Brown 1).
Modern medicine, declined mortality rates, improved sanitation are forces responsible for the world’s population explosion. The world’s population is growing the fastest in the developing world. The population is expected to hit 9 billion “nearly all of this growth will take place in developing countries” (“Population Growth” 1). The developing world has a high population due to high fertility levels.
In this part of the world, many females in the reproductive age are potential mothers. For instance in Africa where fertility rates are high the average number of children per woman is five. In addition, the mortality rates have gone down in the developing world.
With reduced deaths, many children survive and grow into adulthood due to improved sanitation and availability of medication. On the contrary, Population growth is declining in the developed world. These countries have gone through the four stages of demographic transitions and the fertility rate is low thus the declining population.
The implications for countries with declining and aging population are shortage of labor due to lack of energetic young men and women in the labor sector. For example, Japan is estimated to have 40 per cent of its population above 65 years by 2050. The shortage of labor leads to low taxes collection. This influences the economic development of the countries as they spend more money on payout the retirees (Bremner et al 4).
Consequently, the governments of these countries will be forced to take measures to drive the fertility rates up to cover up the deficit in population. In other instance, they might have to increase immigration although many people do not favor this solution. The countries are not headed for extinction per se because there is hope for rebound in fertility rates.
Moreover, the immigrants to the developed countries have high fertility rates for example the Hispanic community in the United States and immigrants in the United Kingdom. However, the demographics of such countries are likely to change with the immigrants surpassing the natives in terms of population size.
Fertility rates are lower in developed countries because there is a less young generation in the childbearing age and the opposite is true in developing nations. Furthermore, due to delayed marriages and high cost of living that forces couples to have fewer children and penetration of reproductive health education unlike in the developing countries (“Population Growth” 1).
The population in the US is growing at about 1% per year. The population is heading in the aging direction in about 50 years time because the big number of baby boomers will have aged and the countries that contribute to immigrants such as Mexico will have a higher aging population than the US hence less immigrants for the US and consequently a rapid aging population (Brown 1).
The planet cannot sustain that a 10 billion population due the strain on natural resources. Policies have to be put in place to improve the situation otherwise the population will slow down due to diseases caused by lack of safe drinking water and hunger from shortage of food.
Potential solutions to the problem of overpopulation include. Educate people about family planning methods so that they can have fewer numbers of children. The education must include religious leaders because in some religions such as Islam and catholic women give birth to high number of children. For example, the teachings of catholic are against use of contraceptives expect the natural or rhythm method.
Economic development can be a solution to the problem of rapid population growth because it will deter people from having many children due to the high cost of living as it has happened in Thailand and Mexico.
Finally, failure to reverse population growth rates will create a major problem for humanity simply because the natural resources available will not be able to sustain the explosive population many will face starvation with reduced food production due to global warming. Conflicts are more likely to arise to from the young nations as more developed nations such as Japan become less economically stable with their aging population.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE has a population problem because its population is male dominated. Thus, results into an imbalance between males and females. The fertility rate in this region has been lowered by the society’s acceptance and use of family planning methods and services.
The governments in the region have embraced policies to drive down the high fertility rate. The conservative culture and religion is opening up and more girls are going to school and taking up careers thus a delay in marriage.
Women are making gains in their rights albeit slowly hence the women are becoming empowered. On the other hand, many labor immigrants come to the UAE and this will raise the population in the region as many immigrants come to seek employment in the region that has a high economy and can afford to employ them. However, it is important to note that most of the immigrants are male hence contributes to the sex imbalance in UAE.
Works Cited
Bremner, Jason et al. “World Population Highlights.” Population Bulletin 63 (2008): 1-11.
Brown, Lester. Interview by NOVA. “Voices of concern “. pbs.org. 2004. Web.
Population growth over human history. globalchange.umich.edu. Web.