Overpopulation has become grave issue of modern world

Have you ever thought about number of people drastically increasing each day in our planet? According to research, the world population has reached 7.7 billion and this number is increasing. On the other hand, resources are limited which are not enough for such huge population. There are millions of people who are living below the poverty line and they don’t have enough food and water for their survival. Overpopulation is problem of the world.

The giant of overpopulation is usually rising from the developing countries. For example, in most Asian countries, the average marriage is around 20 years old and most of the Asian people have no idea of maximum number of children. As a result, most of them have more than 2 children.

Africa has nearly same ratio or even greater than Asia. The population growth rate in Asia is about 3.8% per year, while in Africa, it is 8.3% per year. This number is almost 5 times higher than America and 15% higher than population growth in European countries.

Due to overpopulation, many problems are coming up. According to one research, most of the poorest countries of the world have highest population growth rate. The common term used in geography is GDP growth rate which has to double the population growth rate to provide basic living standard. But in developing countries, the population growth rate is much higher than GDP growth rate. As a result, they face lack of basic living requirements such as fresh water and food.

Overpopulation has bad impact on economy and also on social life of population. It leads to poverty which breeds crime. It is fact that many people after getting required education are unable to find appropriate jobs, which ultimately leads to robbery.

Overpopulation has also adverse effects on the environment. The governments are forced to reclaim lands and eliminating forests and greenery to expand areas. For example, in Bahrain, coasts are daily reclaimed putting marine life at risk. As a result many fishermen lose their jobs.

Pollution is also badly increasing as many people are using personal cars instead of public transport. In 19th century, thick smog covered London for five days caused thousands of deaths. UK, China, India and USA are seriously affected countries by swine flu.

The main causes of overpopulation are lack of family planning, better medical facilities, and decline in death rate, immigration and technological advancement.

According to United Nations World Report, the population of the world is growing by approx. 74 million people per year. According to report, world population will reach 9 billion by 2050. Global life expectancy at birth is expected to continue rising from 65 years in 2000 – 2005 to 75 years in 2045- 2050.

So what are the possible solutions of overpopulation? Awareness must be raised among people regarding family planning. Women must be highly educated. According to report, women with higher education choose to have smaller families. Families with less children must be given tax provisions.