Third World Countries: Population Growth Essay, Research Paper

World Population

Human population has grown more rapidly during the last century than it ever has before. There are more than 3 times as many people on earth today, than there was at the beginning of the twentieth century. Our future size and growth depends mostly on our age structure, survivorship, and fertility rates. All growing countries have slow growing populations. It is the countries with fast population growth that are suffering from rapid environmental changes and problems. Many people believe that that we are headed straight into a world population crisis.

The population growth in Third World Countries is becoming harder to control. Most fast growing countries have populations too large to control. These countries go through rapid ecological changes by consuming their own natural resources and financial resources, faster than they can be produced. This can lead to increasing death rates from starvation and the lowering of living standards. These fast growing countries that have high populations may eventually permanently reduce the carrying capacity of their home land.

There are many reasons why population growth slows at times and rises at times. For example, in countries where most of the women are uneducated, there is limited access to health services and very few people are financially secure, populations tend to be higher. Many of these countries have poor standards of living, which leads to the spread of disease, starvation, poor sanitation and horrible ecological and environmental conditions. Others factors include lack of family planning, lack of education and lack of knowledge about birth control.

When population slows, many give credit to factors of population control. Most governments around the world have laws designed to slow population growth. The governments that have the resources to enforce these laws have been effective in slowing population growth.

There are many groups and organizations in America that contribute to developing countries, by aiding and educating people in family planning and birth control. Another method of population control that is controversial, but encouraged in many countries is male and female sterilization.

Recent questions and comments concerning human rights and respect for people have come up. Problems arise when inaccurate information is given about sterilization and it+s consequences to people in third world countries that are not educated enough to know the difference. This form of birth control takes away all responsibility from procreation. Today, despite it+s controversy, abortion is being suggested more and more as a method of population control.

The most popular method of abortion being promoted today is chemical abortions called, |Anti-PregnanciesX. These include vaccines and injections such as Depo-Provera, Noristerat, Oestro-progesterone (Known as the morning after pill) or most commonly know as RU486. When looking at those countries that have limited access to birth control and/or no knowledge of modern forms of birth control, and those countries that do practice population control, we see more cases of infanticide. Although this is still practiced in some third world countries, infanticide is more commonly practiced when a female baby is born.

It is the Theory of Demographic Transition that states |population growth increases and then slows as a result of the economic and social changes caused by the industrial revolution.X. Population grows rapidly at first: death rates fall but birth rates remain high. Many countries have reached this state of the transition, but there are also many countries that get stuck in this place.

There are many people that believe there is another Demographic Transition that can only be seen after it has gone through the transition. The first transition was to help lower the death rate among infants and children, as well as raise the birth rates. The second Demographic Transition states, |This second revolution belongs primarily to moral and cultural issues and order: Materialism, individualism, and secularization.X This transition can only been seen in it+s after effects. The most visible signs are there are more coffins than cradles and more elderly than children.

When discussing the future population of the world, we will see that population outlooks are unreliable because reproductive behavior is very unpredictable. Most population predictions are accurate for about 40 years into the future but only if they are based on the age structure of the population. This includes life expectancy, modification and improvement in modern drugs, increase in birth survival, and proper hygiene and nutrition. The age structure of a population has a major impact on the countries economic future. However in most third world countries, most must become industrialized.

Another factor our future is based on is our basic survival amongst each other. In order to survive, we must learn to live with each other. A third factor in our future also includes our fertility rates within the population. When these factors are met, population outlook is easier to predict and it allows more time to produce the proper resources needed for all.

World population in 1995 was about 5,799,329,008. Everyday, this number increases by 217,467. Every year, this number in creased by 88,000,000. According to the US census Bureau, if out fertility and mortality rate remained constant at the 1990 level, we would reach 12 billion people by the year 2028. Since then, more policies around the world concerning control over population has increased. The US Census Bureau projects that in 2050, we will reach a world wide population of 9 billion people. As we increase our numbers daily, in the future, will the same effects of over population in third world countries happen to first and second world countries? I believe over time, we will see similar events, however, because of our resources and knowledge, we will see the same effects to a lesser degree. At the same time, because of our knowledge and technology, we will begin to see other problems arise.

If it is |problemsX that we see in our future when it comes to population growth, then it will take a world wide effort to actually control and stabilize population. Over population in most third world countries can and will put a strain on the earth+s natural resources. Again, the most popular solution is the wide spread use of education and birth control around the world. We must ask ourselves, |if the road we are currently taking continues, what will be the outlook on our future environment? Will we be able to handle the problems caused by over population? Per Pinstrup-Anderson, 1992 ; Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute states,

|Failure to significantly reduce the current high population growth rates in Third World countries, within the next 10-20 years will render all other development efforts insufficient to avoid future famines, degradation of land and forest resources, poverty, and human misery of much greater magnitude than experienced to date.X

We already see it today in many countries. It+s just a matter of time before we see it happening around the world.