Economic and Social Impacts of Population Growth

The Numbers Game H = R ÷ P Human condition equals Resources divided by Population

Rates Versus Numbers Even if there is a smaller percentage of people living in poverty, the overall number of people can be larger than ever. – For example: 10% of 100 people (10 people) are living in poverty in In 2000, 8% of 200 people (16 people) are living in poverty. The percentage of those living in poverty has gone down, but the actual number of people has gone up. – The statistics can be misleading, so it is important to understand what the numbers mean

The Challenge of the Urban Future “…will be to sustain progress in social development in the face of unprecedented pressure.” Poverty is increasing dramatically in urban environments, cities, and the challenge is to meet the needs of these people Creating employment opportunities for them is only one side of the issue, governments must invest in health care, family planning, controlling the spread of infectious disease, education, and women’s rights.

The Rise of the Mega-City Since 1950 the number of people living in cities has more than quadrupled – from around 700 million to roughly three billion – mostly in the developing world. Rapid urbanization leads to many social an economic problems, including: Pollution, crime, unemployment, disease transmission, poverty, and homelessness

Cont. Population growth strains political institutions, and the services offered cannot keep up with the demand. Cities may be unable to provide housing, clean water, or sanitation. In 1990 the U.N. estimated that 600 million people in the developing world lived in “life and health- threatening homes and neighborhoods.”

Population and Crime Cities often have a young population, with many economic migrants being between 15 and 25 years old. This places a strain on the education system and job markets, which leads to more stress and tension. For example, in India the population has doubled between 1955 and 1985, while the incidence of community violence has increased sevenfold (the number of deaths from this type of violence has increased tenfold). Poverty is the leading motivator in criminal activies.

Population and Health A rapid population increase puts a strain on the health care system. There is just not enough hospitals, doctors, nurses, etc. to cover everyone. In the growing cities the population density, water shortages, and unsanitary environmental conditions make it much easier for disease to be transmitted. According to a 1998 study the social health of Americans has declined by over 40 percent in the 27 years of the study, while the population rose by over 30 percent.

Population and Disease Over the past 25 years many new diseases have emerged, and many we taught we had virtually wiped out are re-emerging. – For example: the Ebola virus, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C have emerged, while the once-declining cases of Tuberculosis and malaria have began a rapid increase. Causes of disease transmission include overcrowding in cities, poor sanitation, increased international food trade with unhealthy food preparation, and a deteriorating public health system

Cont. New diseases are emerging due to a variety of factors: – Increasing population density forces people into previously uninhabited land, such as forest, rainforest, etc. where they are exposed to new disease vectors (plants and animals) – Alteration of the environment through logging, road-building, mining, etc. also exposes people to new disease vectors – Global warming and climate change allow disease- transmitting animals to move to new parts of the world, infecting different populations (such as malaria transmitted by mosquitoes)

Population and Jobs The past half-century has seen a great increase in productivity and economic growth, largely due to the increased mechanization and improved technology being developed. But, this means fewer jobs available, even as our population is growing. Jobs aren’t being created quickly enough to keep up with the influx of new workers on the job market. Those that are getting work are often given a lower wage than was previously offered. H = R ÷ P Economic security = Jobs ÷ Population

Population and Poverty Poverty is linked to social breakdown, domestic violence, unintended pregnancy, illegal drug use, environmental destruction and violent crime. Whether population growth leads to poverty or poverty to population growth is a matter of debate. Although the “rate” (percentage) of poverty Is decreasing the “numbers” (number of people living in poverty) are increasing. It is often accompanied by unemployment, malnutrition, illiteracy, low status of women, exposure to environmental risks and limited access to social and health services.

Population and Environmental Degradation As a consequence of poverty, many people use the land in ways that harm the environment, as they don’t have the education or the resources for an alternative – Overgrazing – Deforestation – Agricultural mismanagement – Overcutting of fuelwood About 70 percent of the damage the to world’s soil is a result of these practices

Globalization: A Complex Issue Economic globalization has increased dramatically as multinational corporations are manufacturing items in developing nations where it is cheaper, to sell to developed countries, to the rich. However, this brings many problems involving environmental protection, safety standards and human rights. Many developing countries have little choice but to accept and even welcome multinational corporations because they need the import of jobs, but those companies exploit their land and do little for their workers. The main priorities of globalization must be improving health, protecting the environment, promoting human rights, and supporting economic justice. To address the human needs of these nations, developed countries must consume less and developing countries consume more of key items such as food, health care, education and technologies.

The Disasters in Haiti Haiti was colonized by Europe mainly because of the huge forests that covered the island. After the Haitians gained independence the land was divided into smaller and smaller pieces for each generation, until they were too small to generate enough food for a family. Many people were forced to migrate to unclaimed forests on the steep hills, and clear-cut the forest to create farmland, or burned the wood to make charcoal to sell. This caused a massive deforestation and erosion problems. Haiti has about 2 percent of its original forest left, and at least half of the farmland’s soil is so eroded the United Nations considers it “unreclaimable.”

Cont. As the population grew in the 1970s and 80s, agricultural production decreased and more people migrated to cities. The tension between classes rose, with the landowners refusing to invest in improving the workers’ lives and the workers seeing no reason to improve the land of the wealthy. This could have been prevented by the government investing in health care, education, reforestation, economic diversity, but instead the leaders just exploited their country, grabbing whatever personal wealth they could.