Overpopulation Issue around the World by Ece BİLİR

Overpopulation

           From different perspectives, overpopulation has been defined in different ways. For example, the first thing that comes to our minds is species exceeding the capacity of their habitat. The one that I will be explaining in this article is the growing human population in countries with insufficient resources, services, and facilities, which I would like to define as overpopulated countries. 

 Definition of Overpopulation

           When the increasing population cannot maintain its sustainability and welfare levels drop, this situation can be defined as overpopulation. Many obvious signs make us define a country as an overpopulated one, for instance, unemployment, illiteracy, epidemic diseases, etc. To sum up, if the government cannot provide the public with their fundamental needs because of the highly increasing population, that means the country is overpopulated. 

Causes

           From my point of view, two main things can make a country overpopulated. First, unstable and highly increasing population and secondly, wrong governance strategies. In today’s world, many things may cause instability in the growing population. For instance, migration, especially if it is caused by conflict. The hosting countries’ population will suddenly increase, and people will not have a normal life for a long time.

         Wrong governance strategies, for example encouraging society to increase the population and ignoring the welfare level, are among the main causes of overpopulation. The young and productive population has always been an advantage for the government,  however, overpopulation will increase the unemployment rate and this situation will lead the country into a variety of problems. 

           If we examine these two situations carefully, the connection is quite obvious. Everything begins with the government but also ends with it. If the government of the country applies wrong strategies and makes thoughtless laws aiming to increase the population, every plan that is made will deviate from the actual purpose. If the necessary precautions are not taken, anything can get out of control and we define this situation as overpopulation. 

Effects 

           In my opinion, overpopulation is an effect of an unsteady government itself. But if we focus on the effects of an effect, overpopulation increases the negative impacts of the problems that cause overpopulation itself. To simplify, if the resources of a country cannot sustain the growing population, this is how we define overpopulation, but also when this problem occurs, other issues will be accelerated. So, if immediate action is not taken by these countries, the issue will turn into a vicious circle.

           To specify the effects of overpopulation, first, resources will not be accessible to every single person, especially to the ones with low financial opportunities. This will also cause social conflicts and class-based discrimination. 

           Unemployment rates will increase and the majority of the young population will be unemployed. Because, if the population increases without corresponding development, there will not be job opportunities for every single person with different skills and capabilities. So, there will be an unproductive segment of the population. 

           The welfare of society will drop. Most people will not have access to healthcare facilities, sanitation, food, education, and other important factors that make someone’s life a qualified one. 

 Overpopulation Around the World

           If we analyze the whole population of the world, or even just take a look around us, it is evident that many people have a low standard of living even in the wealthiest countries. As a global citizen, I wish the governments were more sensitive about our homeland “the world itself” and help every living person to achieve qualified standards of living. 

           According to research, the most populated country in 2020 is China and India is really close to it. However, I cannot define China as the most overpopulated country in the world, it is indeed overpopulated, but many other countries cannot provide their citizens even with their basic living resources. 

           There are population graphics arranged by age, which are made to show if a country is developed, developing, or undeveloped. In developed countries, the elderly population and young population are almost the same, so these countries usually follow population enhancer policies in order to increase the productive population while there are many unemployed young people in other countries. 

           Developing countries mostly maintain their population quantity and focus on production, industrialization, exports, and necessary imports. So, they are able to develop their healthcare systems and prevent early deaths. 

           Underdeveloped countries mostly focus on their healthcare systems, because according to the statistics, the population of newborns is more than the rest of the population. This means healthcare systems and facilities are not enough to sustain the citizens or they are not accessible for every single person. Unemployment will also cause significant problems and encourage families to have more children because of the hope to have better financial opportunities. 

Possible Solutions

           There is not a certain solution that applies to every mentality or point of view. Also, it is not possible to solve this issue immediately, it takes time and effort. However, if we do not take action soon, our ecosystem will not be able to protect us anymore. 

           If there is no reason to increase the population in a country and the resources are not enough to support every citizen, family planning must be considered. It may seem inaccurate to tell someone how many kids they can have, but for the sake of our world and many other families, everyone should compromise. Also, there must not be any harsh punishments or anything that is against human rights. The consequences can be something such as paying fines. Also, if a government wishes to establish a policy about family planning, birth control services must be provided to the families. The sensitiveness of the issue must always be kept in mind. 

           Another solution that might be more accurate is making strategic changes inside the government in order to achieve sustainable development. This will solve the issue as a whole in a country because if every person has access to proper education, healthcare services, and if the unemployment levels decrease, that country will not be defined as “overpopulated” anymore. However, achieving sustainable development and maintaining the situation is not as easy as it is written. So, every single government official and citizen must work according to it. 

           Global citizenship is on the agenda, people are wishing to be a citizen of the world and to be united. If every person would think that the whole world is our home, we would be doing anything to protect it. Overpopulation is killing many people, many animals, nature but most importantly our humanity. We must try using renewable energy resources and do our best to achieve welfare as the citizens of the whole world. In my article, I aimed to explain overpopulation from my perspective. Hope I have fulfilled your expectations. 

Best Regards,

Ece Bilir