Overpopulation: Causes and Effects?

Overpopulation is characterized as a situation in which humanity's ecological imprint exceeds the planet's carrying capacity, implying that the damaging process outpaces the repair process carried out by nature.

Causes For Overpopulation

• A Decline In Fatality Rate

There has been a decrease in the number of people who have died since the Industrial Revolution, medical advancements have been combined with a greater supply of food, resulting in a significant decrease in death rates. 

When the birth rate remains constant and the mortality rate lowers, population growth is boosted overall.

• Religious Concerns

Another overpopulation cause is that many individuals feel that aborting children or even using contraceptives is a sin. As a result, population expansion is unavoidable in the absence of contraception.

• Lack Of Family Planning

Various people marry at a young age in many countries. As a result, individuals are more likely to have children later in life. Furthermore, due to a lack of education and family pressure, women believe it is their obligation to have as many children as men desire, as they have been informed that raising children is the main function of a woman.

• Poverty

At first appearance, this appears to be in opposition to logical reasoning. Why should poverty be a factor in population growth? The reason for this is that many poor people do not have access to government-sponsored pension plans.

As a result, when they are no longer able to work, they must rely on their children to support them.

• Migration and urban concentration

Local overpopulation can result from migration and urbanization. Over the previous few decades, the urbanization process has accelerated. This is due to a shift in employment demand from agriculture to the service sector. 

As a result, people are forced to relocate to cities to find a job. As a result, overcrowding in particular regions is a possibility.

Effects Of Overpopulation

• Degradation of Environment

Overuse of coal, oil, and natural gas has begun to have major consequences for our ecosystem. Furthermore, the exponential increase in the number of automobiles and enterprises has hurt air quality. 

Global warming is caused by an increase in CO2 emissions. Melting polar ice caps, shifting climate patterns, and rising sea levels are just a few of the potential repercussions of environmental pollution.

• Rise in Employment

When a country gets overpopulated, there are fewer jobs available to support a high number of people, resulting in unemployment. As people try to feed their families and provide them with basic necessities of life, they turn to criminality, such as theft.

• High Cost Of Living

The price of numerous vital commodities, such as food, shelter, and healthcare, rises as the gap between demand and supply widens owing to overpopulation. People will have to pay more to survive and feed their families as a result of this.

Takeaway

All we can do is to provide better education to everyone since education plays a vital role. Also, make people aware of family planning and its benefits.

Written By - Leo Rohit A

Edited By - Akash Verma