OVER-POPULATION

Population in the world is currently (2016) growing at a rate of around 1.13% per year. The current average population change is estimated at around 80 million per year. The world population will continue to grow in the 21^st century, but at a slower rate compared to the recent past. World population has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 million) to 1999 (6 million). It is estimated that it will take a further 39 years to increase by another 50%, to become 9 million by 2038. The top 5 most populated countries being China, India, USA, Indonesia followed by Brazil.

Over-population is a situation in which the number of people exceed the amount of resources that are present to fulfil their requirement. Today rapid increase of population is a major problem, if continued at the current rate the earth would not be able to sustain because of the shortage of resources ( eg water). The world is experiencing a dramatic population increase, which is causing problems in not just developing and under-developed countries but also in industrialized and developed countries.

      Causes like decline in the death rate, better medical facilities, technological advancement in technology, immigration, lack of family planning, poverty and lack of education are some of the reasons for over-population. India is a classic example for over-population. According to the Indian census, carried out in 2011, the population of India was exactly 1,210,193,422 India has crossed the 1-billion mark, which means one out of six people on this planet live in India. This is the second most populous country of the world after China and the various studies have projected that India will be world’s number-1 populous country, surpassing China, by 2025. Inspite of the fact that population policies, family planning and welfare programmes taken by the Government of India has led to a decrease in the fertility rate, yet the actual stabilisation of the population can take place only by 2050. With the population growth rate at 1.2% , India is predicted to have more than 1.53 billion people by the end of 2030. Uttar Prasdesh being the most populous state in India, almost equal to the population of Brazil.

There is an immediate need to cure this problem as it is increasing at a fast pace. Solutions ranging from government policies, sex education, increasing awareness about birth controls and its effect, not allowing early marriage or child marriage, tax benefits or concessions for those who have single children, etc.

          In conclusion I believe that it is high time that we should concentrate on the problem of over-population as not only because of the shortage of resources but also as it causes environmental problems which is essential for survival and I hope we can slove it.

“We must alert and organise the world’s people to pressure world leaders to take specific steps to solve two root causes of environmental crises- exploding population growth and wasteful consumption of irreplaceable resources. Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today”

                       -Captain Jacques- Yves Cousteau

                                                                                                                        BY ADITI SEMWAL