What are the causes, consequences and solutions to Population problems?

Course: Social Problems of Pakistan (SOC-415)

Course Instructor: Saeed Mashaal Bhatti

• ·         Demography is the study of human population.
• ·         Currently, the world is gaining 83 million people each year; 97 percent of this increase is in poor countries. Experts predict that Earth’s population will reach 7 billion very soon and will climb more slowly to about 9 billion by 2050. This over-population poses serious threats to natural environment on the world. 
• The natural environment is Earth’s surface and atmosphere, including living organisms, air, water, soil, and other resources necessary to sustain life.
• 1.6% Population growth rate in Pakistan. Population density 240 people per sq. km of land area. Infant Mortality rate 67 per 1,000 live births

ELEMENTS OF POPULATION

• ·         Fertility is the incidence of childbearing in a country’s population.

o   Crude birth rate the number of live births in a given year for every 1,000  people in a population

• ·         Mortality is the incidence of death in a country’s population.

o   Crude death rate refers to the number of deaths in a given year for every 1,000 people in a population.

o   Life expectancy refers to the average life span of a country’s population.

o   The differential between the (crude) birthrate and the death rate is called the rate of population growth (natural increase) and is usually expressed as a percentage.

• ·         Migration refers to the movement of people into and out of a specified territory

o   Movement into a territory, or immigration, is measured as an in-migration rate, calculated as the number of people entering an area for every 1,000 people in the population.

o   Movement out of a territory, or emigration, is measured in terms of an out-migration rate, the number leaving for every 1,000 people. It can be the cause of brain drain for fewer developing countries.

THEORIES OF POPULATION GROWTH

• 1.      Malthusian Theory

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834), warned that population increase would soon lead to social chaos.

1. ·         Malthus calculated that population would increase in what mathematicians call a geometric progression, illustrated by the series of numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so on. At such a rate, Malthus concluded, world population would soon soar out of control.
2. ·         Food production would also increase, Malthus explained, but only in arithmetic progression (as in the series 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on) because even with new agricultural technology, farmland is limited.

• 2.      Demographic Transition Theory

1. It is a thesis that links population growth patterns to a society’s level of technological development.
2. Preindustrial, agrarian societies (Stage 1) have high birth rates because of the economic value of children and the absence of birth control. Death rates are also high because of low living standards and limited medical technology.
3. Stage 2, the onset of industrialization, brings a demographic transition as death rates fall due to greater food supplies and scientific medicine. But birth rates remain high, resulting in rapid population growth.
4. In Stage 3, a mature industrial economy, the birth rate drops, curbing population growth once again. Fertility falls because most children survive to adulthood and because high living standards make raising children expensive.
5. Stage 4 corresponds to a postindustrial economy in which the demographic transition is complete. The birth rate keeps falling partly because dual-income couples gradually become the norm and partly because the cost of raising children continues to increase.

CAUSES OF OVER POPULATION

• ·         Polygamy Practices: refers to the marriage that unites a person with two or more spouses

o   polyandry marriage that unites one woman and two or more men

o   polygyny marriage that unites one man and two or more women

• ·         Limited recreation activities
• ·         Low death rates
• ·         Warm Climate: Due to the warm climate, youth and maturity is attained at an early age. It also results in rapid population growth.
• ·         High birth rates
• ·         Male child aspiration
• ·         Early Marriages: The marriages take place usually between 16 to 22 years of age in Pakistan. The duration for re-productivity is very lengthy.
• ·         Cultural values
• ·         Disliking birth control

IMPACTS OF OVER POPULATION

• ·         Low per Capital Income: The population growth reduces per capita income of the people because national income is divided by a big size of population. Per capital income of Pakistan is $ 1513.
• ·         Unemployment, Under-employment and Disguised-unemployment: It is impossible to provide jobs to such highly growing population in Pakistan. It results in unemployment, under-employment and disguised-unemployment. Rate of unemployment in Pakistan is 5.6%.
• ·          Effecting the living standards of the population
• ·         High Rate of Inflation: There is more demand for goods due to more population. More demand results in more prices and inflation in the country. Rate of inflation is 14.1 % in Pakistan.
• ·         Vicious circle of Poverty
• ·         Increase in Dependence Ratio: Rapid rise in population growth increases the dependency ratio of unemployed population to employed population. Labor force is 54.92 million of the population in Pakistan and remaining population is depending upon them.
• ·         High crime rates
• ·         Environmental pollution
• ·         Urbanization refers to the concentration of population into cities

o   According to Ferdinand Tonnies, Gemeinschaft (“community”) to refer to a type of social organization in which people are closely tied by kinship and tradition.

o   On the contrary, urbanization creates Gesellschaft (“association”), a type of social organization in which people come together only on the basis of individual self-interest.

• ·         Traffic congestion

SOLUTION TO OVER POPULATION

• ·         Reduction in the rate of growth of the population
• ·         Controlling fertility to achieve a zero rate of population growth
• ·         Achieving a negative rate of growth and thus reduce the size of the population
• ·         Improving literacy rate among population
• ·         Late Marriages: Marriages should take place in late age to control the rapidly rising population. It will be helpful to control the over population.
• ·          Raising awareness and information among society
• ·         High Literacy Rate: Government should provide the more educational facilities to the backward population. This will provide the true picture of the economy, resources and population growth rate. Literacy rate is 57.7% in Pakistan.
• ·          Provision of recreational activities
• ·         Women empowerment and gender equality
• ·         Women Employment: Only 29 % women take an active part in the economic activities in Pakistan. They live full time at home and have no opportunity cost to have a baby.
• ·         Role of media in harboring awareness among masses
• ·         Poverty reduction and improving life expectations
• ·         Provision of employment opportunities