Ehrlich’s 1968 novel, The Population Bomb, eerily echoes Thomas R. This brought about a variety of apocalyptic predictions, most prominently, a revival of the Malthusian trap panic. However, in the 1960s, the global population increased at an unparalleled rate. Throughout human history, birth and death rates have always counterbalanced each other, which ensured that Earth had a maintainable population growth level. ![]() This phenomenon is known as overpopulation, where the condition in which the amount of humans currently existing on Earth outstrips future resource availability and earth’s carrying capacity. In the last five decades, Earth has experienced an extreme population boom. In 1800, Earth had approximately 1 billion inhabitants, which rose to 2.3 billion in 1940, then 3.7 billion in 1970, and approximately 7.5 billion today. The number of humans existing on Earth has never been as high as it is now. ![]() The global population is currently rising at a steady rate. The global population grew fourfold in the past 100 years, so what impact could increased population growth have in the future? Will there be mass-migration? Overcrowding in already densely populated or resource-rich areas? Poor living conditions and sanitation similar to Industrial Revolution era slums? In most of Europe, fertility rates have remained beneath replacement level for decades. In contrast, within every European nation, fertility rates are currently below the population replacement level, which is approximately two children per woman. The UN predicts that, behind Africa, Asia will be the second greatest donor to future international population growth, with an expected addition of approximately one billion people by 2050. This is due to the fact that, from 2010 to 2015, Africa’s population grew at a rate of 2.55 percent annually, with the continent still maintaining the highest pace of population growth among other continents. The UN projects that over half of the Earth’s population growth in the next three decades will occur in the continent of Africa. Until then, we will have to wait and see if the current trends continue.With the world’s population rising faster than ever before, will our population growth outpace our resource reserves? How can the dangerous effects of overpopulation be managed without diminishing the major improvements in our quality of life that come about thanks to population growth? These are questions we currently do not have answers to.Ģ024 will be the next year to watch as that is current prediction for when the word surpasses a population of 8 billion. There is also the question of the capacity of the earth to be able to support and feed an ever burgeoning population. While the global population is still expanding, it is estimated that the growth rate will begin to decline in the next several decades due to a variety of factors.īirth rates in developed countries have been steadily declining. 3 billion was reached in 1960 4 billion in 1974.Įven the deadly World War II and other wars of the early to mid 20th did not have an impact on these figures.ħ billion was surpassed in 2011, with the current world population estimated to be at roughly 7.8 billion. From there, due to the rapid advances in science, technology, and public health (among others) the world population grew rapidly. It took just over another hundred years for the world population to gain another billion (estimated in 1927). Hundreds of thousands of years of human history passed before the population reached 1 billion in roughly 1804. See the next section for a chart showing the World Population by Century. With the loss of stability and order these political entities provided, famines, warfare, and disease were rampant.ĭespite this, the world population has steadily trended upwards since the 1400’s. ![]() Examples of this include when the Western Roman empire fell (3rd-5th centuries), and the transition from the Ming to Quing dynasties in China (17th century). Other significant events include the collapse of political entities that stabilized entire regions. For instance, the Black Death in the 14th century and other subsequent plagues had a huge negative impact. ![]() This is due to the fact that significant events had a huge impact on the lower overall world population. If you look at the world population by century during this time, you will notice that while the population trend steadily increases, there are noticeable reversals. For the vast majority of human history, the world had a population of less than 1 billion.
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