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What’s The Real Impact Of Population Growth?

In 2011 the global population reached a figure out over seven billion. Since then the growth of the population has shown no signs of slowing down with some estimates claiming that it will reach eight billion by the year 2025. With a level of growth this rapid, it would be ridiculous to imagine that there aren’t going to be some serious consequences to the world in which we live, many of them rather frightening. But only by paying attention to the kinds of consequences that can arise from such a large population can we start thinking about what to do about it. Here are some of the impacts of global population growth that many experts are already very concerned about.

 

Natural resources

The reality is this: we only have a certain number of natural resources available to us and an increased population makes sustainability a serious issue. Every year there are more mouths to feed and homes to warm and the earth is simply not equipped to be able to supply the ever-increasing demands that are being placed upon it. Fortunately, there are those who are working hard to attempt to counteract the impact that overpopulation is having on the earth’s natural resources. Organizations like the Global Salmon Initiative conduct vast amounts of research and offer information about raising salmon as sustainably as possible to salmon farmers around the world. By focussing on sustainability then there is still a chance that we can achieve some kind of balance between feeding the ever increasing population and avoiding putting too much pressure on our planet’s natural resources.

 

Business

 

Unlike the effect on natural resources, the impact of a larger population on business is slightly less cut and dry. There is a mix of positive and negative effects that can arise. For one thing, a larger population means a greater chance for competition which can drive innovation in a significant way. It also offers the chance for more customers so that it’s less likely for a single business to develop a monopoly over one particular market. However, there are also some risks that overpopulation poses to businesses. The size of the population increases the need for assembly line production which often squeezes out many smaller business that can’t afford to automate their processes and also leads to many skilled workers being replaced by machinery. People are also living longer, and older people are making up more of the general population. Older people are less likely to engage with many businesses which mean that, despite population growth, there are potentially fewer people interested in businesses and putting money back into the economy.

 

Crime rates

Overpopulation puts a great deal of strain on societal infrastructure and anytime where the infrastructure of a society is no longer functioning properly, a degree of civil unrest follows. Increased population can potentially lead to rises in poverty which, in turn, often lead to rising crime rates. The same result comes from the simple fact that a larger population leads to overcrowding, housing shortages and homelessness. Areas with large populations need to be thinking about how they’re going to scale their infrastructure along with the population in order to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

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