Introduction
There are various effects of population growth around the globe. Once of such effect revolves around the issue of investment where population growth results in the scarcity of choices between the required investment and high level of consumption both presently and in future. Economic development of any given region or jurisdiction is largely dependent upon the level of investment in that particular region. Presently, most regions around the globe are experiencing limited availability of the resources that are usually meant for investment. As such, high rates of population growth often retards the investment required to ensure the creation of jobs and food security for future consumption. Moreover, population growth results in a higher tendency of overusing resources particularly the natural resource. In cases where a larger section of the population is dependent on agricultural produce for food and livelihood, agricultural holdings have continued to become smaller without any considerable output. Consequently, some households find themselves languishing in poverty. Rapid population growth rate has been found to have a significant association with the overuse of land thus resulting in an endangered future generation. Countries with a significant portion of untapped natural resources such as Brazil among other countries within the Latin American region have been experiencing rapid growth in their population (Martin and Garcimartin, 2011).
Effects of Population Growth on Environment
The findings by Kopnina and Washington (2016) have shown that a high growth rate of human population is largely associated with an incredible pressure as well as an adverse effect on the quality and sustainability of the environment. Developed countries across the world have, previously, been linked to continuous pollution of the environment and the depletion of its resources. On the other hand, most developing countries have often found themselves under intense pressure to keep up with the economic and industrialization form of competition created by their developed counterparts. The overall outcome is that the global environment has been adversely affected to the extent that its future capacity to sustain life has significantly reduced. In this respect, the problem of global warming is regarded as one of the most severe effects on the environment caused by due to increasing in human population and their associated activities. Some scientists and researchers have warned that if the current increasing trend in global warming is not checked then t could lead to rising levels of the sea and unfavorable weather conditions in the future. Increase in population has also been associated with an alarming rate of forest destruction as people try to acquire wood for fuel and other use that they use to sustain their livelihoods (Preston, 2006).
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Due to rapid growth in human population, people have continuously put a strain on the limited natural resources thereby leading to the deterioration of the quality of the quality of the global environment. Unrestrained use of energy and fuel in most parts of the globe has considerable contributed towards the depletion of non-renewable energy resources. Certain parts around the globe have also been reported as suffering from the shortage of food and water following the disruptions caused by the increased activities of the people. In the recent past, the global environment has been subjected to destruction and high rate of depletion of its resources owing an increased level of human activities. The analysis done by Jain and Jain (2016) indicates that that that an increase in human population results in a corresponding increase in needs, demand, and activities. The increasing number of human beings owing to growth in population requires increased food, field, medication, education, houses, and the construction of several other facilities that could result in interference with the global environment.
Most of the activities carried out by people in search of food and other materials often result in the degradation of the environment. In the last couple of years, this degradation has of the environment has been occurring at an alarming rate following a rapid increase in the human population in most regions around the globe. Kopnina and Washington (2016) maintain that the imbalance between the growth rate of the human population on the earth and the available resources has significantly resulted in an extensive deterioration of the environment to the extent that the future generations may not be in a position to enjoy the beauty and effectiveness of a clean and quality environment with adequate resources. This situation is most likely going to expose the future generations into dangers of challenges of being unable to meet their fundamental needs and requirements. Vegetation and forest cover of the earth surface are some of the most important environmental aspects that influence the survival and well-being of human beings. Different species of trees and vegetation play a critical role in ensuring that the environment can provide human beings with the resources that they require for different activities such as construction, fuel production, and food production among others. Also, an adequate vegetation and forest cover ensure that the environment remains, clean, healthy, and attractive. Moreover, an adequate cover of forest and vegetation on the earth's surface ensures the protection of soil from erosion and different forms of landslides (Kopnina & Washington, 2016).
Preston (2006) posited that a rapidly growing population is often accompanied by an increasing level of demand and needs for food and resources obtained from the environment. In this respect, there could be the aspect of population explosion which could lead to the scarcity of such resources thus affecting the quality of human life on the surface of the earth. The presence of increased human population on the surface of the earth has been linked to increased human activities thus leading to a wanton destruction of the forest and vegetation cover within the environment. For example, Nepal has been grappling with challenges brought about extensive deforestation. The situation in this country has been dire because the growth in human population has driven people into clearing large sections off vegetation and forest cover with intention of creating space for their settlement as well as finding grass and fodder for their livestock. This level of deforestation has resulted in adverse effects on the environment in the sense that there has been an acute shortage of many species of medicinal herbs, wildlife, and varieties of tree. A higher the level of the human population in a particular region often results in a higher rate of destruction of the vegetation cover and subsequent destruction of the overall environment and its inhabitants (Arunachalam, 2010).
Aquatic lives form part of the other aspect of the environment that has always been subjected to adverse effects due to rapid growth in population and increased rate of human activities. A high presence of human being and their activities close to the water bodies are often linked to interference with the reproduction and well-being of marine life. In this respect, some of the human activities have always led to pollution of the marine environment to the extent that it becomes difficult for various marine species to survive and reproduce thus they are faced with threats of being extinct. Destruction of forest and vegetation cover considerable reduces the sources of water bodies such as wells, rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, and seas thus leading to their drying up. The survival of the amphibians and fish in with the aquatic environment has been made difficult by increased human population and human activities close to the water bodies. The overall effect of this destruction of the aquatic environment has also affected the human beings who depend on fishing as an economic activity and as a source of food (Jain & Jain, 2016).
Social Effects of Population Growth
One of the social effects associated with rapid growth in human population is reduced standards of living owing to a scarcity of resources. Ford (2011) explains that the per capita income forms one of the most important determinants of living standards in a given country or region. In this regard, the living standard of human beings is often influenced by some of the factors that usually affect the per capita income about the growth in population within a given region. A rapidly growing population could be associated with increased scarcity of essential resources such as food, shelter, and healthcare. As such, there is a higher likelihood that increased human population in a given region will result in a corresponding reduction of the standards of living for the people living in that particular region. In this case, people will always be scrambling for the limited available resources and services thus making others to live their lives in extremely deplorable conditions. The consequence of the scarcity of resources and services in regions characterized by rapid growth in population is a high cost of living which often goes beyond the rich and affordability of most people. This situation can only result in a further decline of the living standards of people that are already low. Moreover, poverty breeds rapidly and extensively in situations where there is a huge population trying to scramble for a limited amount of resources. Such a trend could even deteriorate to a humanitarian crisis if appropriate plans and remedial structures are not put in place at the earliest opportunity (Renström & Spataro, 2015).
Also, high population growth often leads to a considerable strain on the existing social infrastructure if it is not expanded accordingly. In this regard, a rapidly growing human population brings about the necessity of investing extensively in the social infrastructure. However, the scarcity of resources makes it difficult for the smooth and efficient operation of the social infrastructure. This situation makes it almost difficult to ensure that the rapidly increasing human population is provided with essential social services and amenities such as housing facilities, healthcare, transportation, and education. Further, the fact that people are overcrowded almost everywhere implies that the quality of service provision is adversely affected and it goes down to levels that are below the required and acceptable standards. For example, the rapid population growth experienced in most developing countries around the world has made it difficult for such countries to meet the required World Health Organization, WHO standards of doctor to patients’ ratio. The overall outcome of such a situation is that the human population increasingly becomes unhealthy and is incapable of participating actively in their respective social activities (Arunachalam, 2010).
The findings by Renström and Spataro (2015) have indicated that the widespread poverty that has been widespread in most African countries is attributable to high rates of population growth. Moreover, this trend has caused serious implications about the functionality of the social infrastructure in this particular region. The education of a large number of school-age children has been jeopardized to the extent that it has been characterized with uncertainties. This is because the available resources have not been able to cater for the ever-increasing number of such children. Most developing countries, especially in the African continent, have not been able to attain the recommended teacher to pupil ration in most of their schools and learning institutions. Furthermore, the rapidly growing population in some of the developing countries around the world is largely responsible for the serious challenges faced in providing quality healthcare, sanitation, and safe water. For example, Mozambique happens to be one of the developing countries around the world and only thirty percent of its population has been able to have access to quality healthcare services. Moreover, this country has been able to experience a considerable high rate of mortality, congestion in certain essential facilities and social amenities, pollution, homelessness, deterioration of public services, substandard housing, and high rates of crime within most parts of its urban areas. The argument by Ford (2011) holds that a rapidly growing population is largely linked to changes in cultural behavior, social beliefs, and values as well as customs and traditions within a given society. Population growth also affects the manner in which people chose to carry out their different festivals, marriage patterns, dressing, and their way of thinking and decision-making within the society.
Economic Effects of Population Growth
Previous studies have been able to determine that rapid growth in population in any given region will always slow down the economic development of that particular region. In this regard, higher rates of population growth across the globe have adverse effects on the world economy in several ways. One of such ways includes a growing economic disparity between developed countries and developing countries since there is always a decrease in per capita income about an increase in human population. Rapid growth in population is usually associated with increased rates migrations taking place from a region of the globe to the other. In this respect, it is worth noting that most of the cased of migration of people from one region of the world to the other have often been experienced in the majority of the Middle East countries. However, this practice has not been commonly witnessed in developed countries owing to the king of restrictions that these countries usually place on immigration of people from poor countries. In this case, people moving from poor countries into developing countries in search of jobs and employment opportunities often bring about cheap labor into the economy of the developed countries thus affecting the economic status of the native workers. Such a situation could lead political and social tensions thereby having adverse effects on any efforts directed towards economic growth and development (Sinding, 2009).
Rapid growth in population brings about a corresponding increase in the level of consumption of goods that could have been exported in exchange for revenues to boost the economy. The consequence of this state of affairs is that high rate of population growth has a higher likelihood of resulting in a steady decline in the amount of exportable surplus from any given country. Additionally, production of more food alongside other resource is always required to ensure that the demand of a rapidly growing population is met. Higher rates of population growth in counties with limited resources or lack of inadequate development and infrastructure could lead to an increase in imports thereby slowing down economic growth and development, which often thrives on high levels of exports. Increase in imports and reduction in exports usually results in the deterioration of a desirable economic balance about payments position existing in a given country. In this regard, the state may be forced by unfavorable economic conditions to curtail the activities and processes associated with imports of capital goods since they are likely to bring about more adverse effects to the economic growth and development of that particular country. The increasing trend in population has resulted in several challenges such as making it difficult to have investments in public services, drainage, roads, and other components of an infrastructural network. Rapid population growth in certain parts of the globe makes it difficult and challenging to plan for the management of the changes associated with social and economic adjustments (Mberu and Ezeh, 2017).
In this regard, population growth could lead to the occurrence of permanent damage to the environment following unsustainable levels of urbanizations in certain rural areas around the globe. As such, high population growth rate brings about the capital dilution effect about the economic status of a given country or region. A decrease in the growth rate associated with the per capita variables has been found to have a higher likelihood of resulting from an increasing rate of population growth both globally and regionally. Sinding (2009) observed that population growth could be largely detrimental to the status of economic growth and development of a particular country owing various challenges such as tremendous pressure exerted on the limited available resources. However, Kentor (2001) has been able to introduce an interesting perspective regarding the manner in which a rapid rate of population growth could influence the economic growth and development. In this respect, the school of thought being advanced is that population growth does not have any significant effect on the economic growth and development of a given county or region. According to the theoretical basis of the Malthusian model, the growth in the population tends to take a geometrical sequence whereas that of resource availability tends to follow an arithmetic sequence.
Conclusion
In summing up, it is worth highlighting some of the future threats that are likely to be encounter if the situation of population growth does not change. In this case, the rapid rate of population growth could be associated with several threats if it is not appropriately handled and controlled. Moreover, there could be a continuous deterioration of the environment, the economy, and the social well-being of people across the world if the current situation characterizing the rate of population growth does not change. If the present rate of population growth is left to continues, the global demand for food is likely to double over the next one decade without an increase in the available resources or supplies. A larger section of this food demand is likely to take place in developing countries within Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Moreover, the future of humanity could be characterized by humanitarian disasters where a large percentage of the global population is unable to access basic and essential things live food, safe water, shelter, clothing, and healthcare. Such a trend will put a strain on the already limited resources across the globe. If the current situation of population growth does not change, then the world will witness unprecedented exploitation, destruction and deterioration of its environment as people try to find food and shelter and scramble for the limited available resources. In this case, the environmental wellbeing may not be sustained in the coming future since people will tend to clear the limited vegetation cover in attempts to secure space for settlement, social activities and economic activities. There is a higher likelihood that world economy may be in a serious turmoil shortly if appropriate plan and measures are not put in place to address the concern of rapid population growth rate around the globe (Mberu & Ezeh, 2017).
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