POPULATION EXPLOSION: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The demographic explosion is an accelerated population growth that occurs at various stages in history and is caused by economic, political or social factors. Currently, the number of inhabitants worldwide is 8 billion people and it is expected that by 2045 it will be 9 billion.

In February 2020 the earth had 7.9 billion individuals, the most populous countries being China –with almost 1.4 billion–, India, which is followed very closely, the United States and Indonesia.

Currently, the number of inhabitants worldwide is 8 billion people and it is expected that by 2045 it will be 9 billion. Source: pixabay.com

India is expected to become the country with the most inhabitants, as China has a birth problem that its government is trying to solve. This social phenomenon occurs for various reasons, such as immigration, the decrease in the mortality rate and the increase in the birth rate.

History

The demographic explosion is not a new phenomenon, since since the 18th century some authors stated that natural resources were being depleted faster and faster and the cause was the increase in inhabitants, since by that time certain antibiotics had already been invented and vaccines that lengthened human life.

Thanks to this, the doctors were able to overcome some diseases that until now had been incurable. It is stated that it was in England - in the late 1700s - where population growth began and the reason was the decrease in the mortality rate (that is, there were more people born than dead).

On the other hand, the birth rate increased at the beginning of the 20th century in several countries, the main reason being poverty in the states; For example, in some South American towns, low-income people were not treated in medical services and did not have the right to education.

With no education about family planning, they had no choice but to have many children. On the other hand, in certain European and Asian nations the birth rate increased because the inhabitants followed the traditional ideas of family, where the normal thing was to have many babies.

Population explosion: late 20th century

Looking at the consequences of population growth, politicians decided to create new laws that would limit the number of births. This happened in China, where millionaire couples were the only ones who could have two or three children, since they had money and stability; all other couples were only required to have a firstborn.

At present, the demographic explosion continues to affect - in a special way - poor countries, where premature pregnancies have increased.

Causes

Baby boom

The increase in the birth rate is one of the main causes of the demographic explosion. This is seen in some African countries, where births rise daily.

Fall in mortality rate

The proper functioning of public health has caused the number of deaths to decrease. The mortality rate falls for two reasons: the first is when older people manage to extend their lives thanks to medicines and physical care; the second is when women have successful pregnancies and children are born healthy.

Both aspects are important in population growth. A good example is the case of Finland, a country that has the lowest mortality rate since only 2 deaths occur for every 1000 births.

Immigration

Immigration is one of the movements that contributes to the demographic explosion. People move to other areas in order to obtain more benefits. This fact generates that most of the inhabitants are grouped in the same place.

For example, if a Latin American decides to emigrate to a European country, it is very likely that he will choose to live in an important capital, since in that place he has a better chance of finding work. For this reason, immigration contributes to the saturation of cities.

Consequences

Decline in natural resources

The phenomenon of overcrowding has caused water and food crops to decline more and more. These resources have not been sufficient to meet the needs of the many inhabitants and the capacity of the earth to reproduce them is limited.

Increase in pollution

The increase in population means an increase in the release of greenhouse gases. This occurs in some of the most populated cities in India, such as Kanpur, Delhi or Varanasi.

Advantage

One of the advantages of the population explosion is the evolution of technology. Thanks to continuous scientific advances, many drugs have been developed that seek to maintain people's health.

Living in overcrowded spaces has allowed man to create new communication channels, shallow wells for drinking water, plumbing systems and programs that promote recycling.

Likewise, the excess of inhabitants makes people more competitive. This is observed in certain Asian communities - such as China - where individuals focus on obtaining a university degree or developing their talents with the aim of having a respectable position in society.

Disadvantages

Insecurity and poverty are some of the disadvantages of the demographic explosion. As the city centers are collapsed due to the number of inhabitants, many people decide to build their houses in the border areas.

This event causes the place to take on a bad appearance and the public services do not work properly. It should be noted that this phenomenon is common in certain countries of South America, such as Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia, where there are spaces that were called neighborhoods.

Another disadvantage is that the excess population does not contribute to the progress of the nation, a fact that stands out in Mexico and Peru. This is because most of the inhabitants are children and the elderly, who do not work and their actions do not usually benefit the state.

On the other hand, in Canada the opposite occurs, since the lack of child inhabitants has worried the government because - in the future - they will not have many citizens who work for the state to emerge.

The demographic explosion causes the saturation of cities and public transport. Source: pixabay.com

Population explosion in Mexico

According to studies carried out by academics, the population growth in Mexico rose in 1970. Since that period, births have multiplied. Therefore, this country is characterized by having one of the highest birth rates.

One of the main reasons for this to occur is that the inhabitants of the provinces think that it is important to expand the family nucleus; that is, they believe that the most relevant idea of ​​marriage is having several children.

Experts say that in this country not enough programs have been developed to teach couples what are the consequences of having a large family. Another cause of overpopulation in this nation is that Mexicans leave their homes in the towns to move to the cities.

The goal of these people is to improve their lives and obtain more financial benefits. However, by moving to the cities, they cause fewer jobs because companies do not have as many positions to hire all the inhabitants.

Colombia

At the end of the 20th century, the number of inhabitants rose in Colombia as a result of the increase in births. However, researchers show that today the number of births has decreased, but mortality has increased.

The increase in deaths is the result of criminal acts; It is also the consequence of an educational system that has been underdeveloped, that is because not all citizens dedicate themselves to studying or working, some prefer to seek risky solutions to live, among them are theft and the sale of drugs.

It is worth mentioning that –although the number of births has decreased– in recent years the government has promoted the replacement fertility program, which proposes that women have a limited number of children. The aim is that the nation does not have more than 96 million inhabitants in the next century.

Peru

In 1940, trade in Peru was of great importance because it caused different drugs to enter the country. From that moment, the rapid growth of the population began, since the drugs prevented people from dying at an early age.

Therefore, the main cause of the demographic explosion was the development of medicine, which allowed people to take better care of their health and for women to have greater control during their pregnancies.

Currently, one of the reasons why the population is increasing is migration; In this way, it has been observed since 2015, when many Venezuelans arrived in this nation.

References

1. Agudo, A. (2019). The global population explosion slows down. Retrieved on February 17, 2020 from El País: elpais.com
2. Arnuljo, B. (2012). The population explosion and birth control. Retrieved on February 17, 2020 from the Research Center: upel.edu
3. Camel, O. (2015). America, Asia and Europe: features of population explosion. Retrieved on February 17, 2020 from Sociology: helsinki.fi
4. Havemann, V. (2007). History of the population explosion: causes and consequences. Retrieved on February 17 from Science: sciencemag.org
5. Jiménez, S. (2011). The population explosion as an academic discipline. Retrieved on January 10, 2020 from the Institute of Economy, Geography and Demography: iegd.csic.es
6. Maramatsu, H. (2004). Demographics, branches and topics. Retrieved on January 10, 2020 from the Honduran Academy Bulletin: asale.org
7. Martínez, J. (2016). The challenges of the demographic explosion. Retrieved on January 9, 2020 from Semana Magazine: semana.com
8. White, E. (2011). Contributions of the population explosion. Retrieved on February 17, 2020 from Academia: academia.edu