Population issues have long been a focal point of global discourse, captivating the attention of policymakers, researchers, and citizens alike. With the world’s population surpassing 7.8 billion and projected to continue its upward trajectory, concerns about overpopulation, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and socioeconomic disparities have become increasingly pronounced. The intricate interplay between population dynamics, sustainable development goals, and the well-being of both present and future generations underscores the urgency of addressing these complex challenges. From demographic shifts and urbanization trends to reproductive health disparities and migration patterns, understanding and navigating population issues are paramount for fostering equitable and resilient societies in the 21st century.
Population Problems of Underdeveloped Countries
Underdeveloped countries face distinctive challenges that hinder their economic growth and overall progress. There are two major categories of such countries:
- Overpopulated Countries with Limited Technological Advancements:
- Countries like China and India grapple with overpopulation. Despite having abundant resources, their technological development in agriculture and industry is inadequate. The economy usually comprises a blend of modern industries with traditional agriculture, often leading to imbalances and inefficiencies.
- Underpopulated Countries with Advanced Societies and Resources:
- Countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Russia possess substantial resources and advanced societies. However, these nations lack adequate population to fully harness their resources. The underutilization of resources could be due to reasons like adverse climatic conditions, limited population, or challenges in deploying modern technologies.
Both categories of underdeveloped countries face unique hurdles in achieving economic prosperity, whether it’s imbalanced economic structures, inadequate technological advancements, underutilized resources, or adverse environmental conditions. These factors contribute to their challenges in achieving comprehensive development and progress.
Problems of Overpopulation
- Rapid population growth: In countries where family planning practices are not widely adopted, populations tend to grow quickly. This rapid growth often results in a substantial portion of the population being composed of young individuals who are reliant on a smaller workforce. The considerable number of young people also puts additional pressure on social services and infrastructure, impacting the capacity and resources allocated for education, healthcare, and other social needs.
- Unemployment: In many underdeveloped countries, industries aren’t well-developed, leading to few jobs for unskilled workers. This creates a lot of unemployment. There aren’t enough places to learn new skills, causing a lack of trained workers. In crowded rural areas, many people can’t find enough work. So, they move to cities looking for jobs, but it’s tough to find work there too. This makes the cities too full, and life there becomes hard because there are too many people living there.
- Poor standards of living: Standards of health and hygiene and housing are low which leadsto health problems and malnutrition and the spread of diseases. Ignorance of people and lack of financial resources further add to the problem.
- Under-utilization of Agricultural resources: Traditional methods of agriculture, outdated or inadequate equipments. Lack of financial resources for improving farms, nonuse or misuse of marginal agricultural land, such as highlands, may all help to keep agricultural production much lower than its potential. Difficulties of rationalizing farming techniques and reforming land tenure to give larger, more economic farms are aggravated by lack of capital and by traditional attitudes of farmers who are often slow to adopt new ideas.
- Slow growth of industry: Aside from the challenge of insufficient funds that hinder the optimal use of resources, population-related aspects play a significant role. Although the workforce is substantial in size, it lacks skills and experience in industrial jobs. Likewise, even though a sizable population could potentially create a strong demand for finished products, most people are impoverished and cannot afford to purchase these goods. Mechanized manufacturing, which is cost-effective for producing goods for a limited market, employs very few workers and does not effectively address unemployment issues.
- Traditional attitudes militating against change: Some traditional or religious beliefs can prevent progress or even worsen conditions. For example, birth control is not allowed by the Catholic Church, and in India, caste restrictions limit job choices, which slows development. The reluctance of rural communities to change farming methods or accept new crops, like genetically modified ones, also affects progress. Education can help change the attitude toward new farming methods, but altering religious beliefs is often more challenging.
Declining Child Sex Ratio In India
- The declining child sex ratio is a serious concern India is grappling with, especially alongside its growing population.
- Several factors may be held responsible for the decline in the child sex ratio including – severe neglect of girl babies in infancy, leading to higher death rates; sex specific abortions that prevent girl babies from being born; and female infanticide (or the killing of girl babies due to religious or cultural beliefs).
- Each of these reasons point to a serious social problem, and there is some evidence that all of these have been at work in India. Practices of female infanticide have been known to exist in many regions, while increasing importance is being attached to modern medical techniques by which the sex of the baby can be determined in the very early stages of pregnancy.
- The availability of the sonogram (an x-ray like diagnostic device based on ultra-sound technology), originally developed to identify genetic or other disorders in the fetus, may be used to identify and selectively abort female foetus.
- The regional pattern of low child sex ratios supports this idea. Surprisingly, the wealthiest regions in India, like Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, show the lowest child sex ratios. This situation suggests that the problem of selective abortions isn’t due to poverty, ignorance, or lack of resources.
- For instance, in cases where practices like dowry demand hefty payments for marrying off daughters, more prosperous families might be better equipped to afford these expenses.
- the lowest sex ratios are observed in the most prosperous regions, which is unexpected. Wealthier families, often choosing to have fewer children, might also desire to select the sex of their child.
- This is feasible due to ultrasound technology, despite strict government regulations against it, including stringent laws since 1996 and further reinforcement in 2003 with severe penalties of fines and imprisonment.
- However, solving issues like gender bias relies not only on laws but also on the transformation of societal attitudes over time.
Problems of Under-Population
- Uneven Distribution of Population:In countries with low populations, the average density of people per area is low. Even though these places might have high birth rates, their population grows slowly. People tend to move more to towns and cities rather than rural areas. Cities with better living conditions attract individuals from sparsely populated rural areas. This creates an imbalance between urban and rural areas, which is a significant challenge for countries with low populations.
- Remoteness: It is difficult to increase settlement in sparsely populated areas because people are unwilling to forego the amenities of the town. Where there are few people it is uneconomic to provide elaborate communications, health, education or other facilities. This in turn increases the unwillingness of people to settle in such areas.
- Under Utilization of resources: Lack of population makes it difficult for a country to develop its resources to the full. Minerals will usually be extracted, especially precious metals and petroleum, because the desire for wealth will overcome other considerations. Agricultural resources are more difficult to develop because they require more and harder work over a long period of years before they show a good return.
- Slow growth of Industry: This is due to shortage of labour, especially skilled labour in under populated countries, e.g. in the South American and African countries. Imported skilled labour raises the cost of industrial development. Moreover the small population does not provide an adequate market even where the standard of living is high.
- Climatic Problems: Hostile climate or relief conditions make settlement difficult. Such conditions obstruct development and are likely never to be fully overcome.
In most developed countries, there are areas needing improvements in agriculture or industry, and some places have a larger population than ideal. Similarly, less developed countries have cities facing issues similar to those in urbanized societies worldwide. It’s essential to recognize differences among underdeveloped nations. Some have better resources or smaller populations, like Argentina, Mexico, and Malaysia, making it more likely for them to overcome challenges compared to countries with fewer resources and larger populations holding onto traditional ideas
Population Problems of Advanced Countries
- Ageing Population: Due to low birth rate the proportion of young people in the population is relatively small. Low death rate and high life expectancy mean that there is an ever-increasing proportion of older people in the population. Many retire from active work in their sixties and then become dependent on the working population. Provisions of pension and other facilities, e.g. health services for elderly people pose financial challenges.
- Small Work force: As education gets better, kids spend more time in school and start working later. This, along with fewer babies being born, means the number of people working grows slowly while there are more and more job opportunities. Even though many industries use machines, some countries still don’t have enough workers. Another issue is that most workers are well educated and skilled, so there aren’t enough unskilled workers. Because most workers are skilled and there aren’t many of them, wages are high.
- Rural Depopulation: Many people move from rural areas to cities because cities offer attractive opportunities. With fewer people in rural areas, it’s less practical to offer services or start businesses there. This causes a gap between urban and rural areas.
- Urbanization:As cities grow bigger, they face challenges like more traffic, pollution from factories, and issues with waste disposal. Urban life can also cause more stress and mental health problems than in less developed areas. As cities expand, they take up land that could be used for farming, affecting self-sufficiency in some places.
In many developed countries, there are areas that need better farming or industries, or places where the population is too big. Similarly, in underdeveloped countries, big cities face problems similar to those in developed urban areas. However, it’s essential to consider differences among underdeveloped countries. Some have more resources or smaller populations, like Argentina, Mexico, and Malaysia. These places are more likely to solve their issues compared to countries with fewer resources and larger populations who stick to traditional ways.
Factors that affect population growth
The overarching factor that affects population growth is low socio-economic development. (Link literacy and population rates- TFR)
- For example, Uttar Pradesh has a literacy rate of 67%; only 14% of the women receive complete antenatal care. Uttar Pradesh records an average of four children per couple.
- In contrast, in Kerala almost every person is literate and almost every woman receives antenatal care. Kerala records an average of two children per couple.
Other Factors
- Early marriage
- Nationwide almost 43% of married women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18. This figure is as high as 68% in Bihar. Not only does early marriage increase the likelihood of more children, it also puts the woman’s health at risk.
- Level of education
- Fertility rate usually declines with increase in education levels of women.
- Other socio-economic factors
- The desire for larger families particularly preference for a male child also leads to higher birth rates. It is estimated that preference for a male child and high infant mortality together account for 20% of the total births in the country.
FAQs
Q: What are the main causes of overpopulation?
A: Overpopulation stems from factors such as high birth rates, decreased mortality rates due to advancements in healthcare, inadequate family planning, and cultural or religious beliefs promoting larger families.
Q: What are the consequences of overpopulation?
A: Overpopulation can lead to resource depletion, strain on infrastructure, environmental degradation, increased competition for jobs and housing, poverty, and heightened social tensions.
Q: How does overpopulation impact the environment?
A: Overpopulation contributes to deforestation, pollution, loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction, and climate change through increased demand for resources and energy consumption.
Q: What strategies exist to address overpopulation?
A: Effective family planning programs, access to education, empowering women, promoting sustainable development practices, implementing policies to curb population growth, and raising awareness about the consequences of overpopulation are key strategies.
Q: What are the global efforts to manage population growth?
A: International organizations like the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) work with governments to promote reproductive health, provide access to contraceptives, support education, and advocate for policies aimed at sustainable population growth. Additionally, voluntary family planning initiatives and community-based programs play a crucial role in addressing population issues on a local and global scale.
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