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Essay On Overpopulation

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INTRODUCTION

The population has been increasing exponentially with the world population hitting the 7 billion mark in 2012. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) accounted for 97% of this growth (United Nations, 2015). There are currently 48 LDCs, all of which are suffering from extreme poverty and high fertility rates. As the poverty rates fell, so did birth rates (Central Intelligence Agency, 2016), reflecting poverty as a major cause for overpopulation. This leads to issues regarding resource scarcity like overcrowding, food scarcity, and water scarcity.

CAUSE

Poverty leads to overpopulation as residents in these areas see their children as an …show more content…
This gives rise to slums and one example of this is in Dakha, Bangladesh. The slum is densely populated with 14.6 million people living within an area of 325 square kilometers (Cox, W., 2012). Basic services are unavailable, and dwellings are lacking in various ways, leading to an extremely low quality of life. Other examples include Kenya where slums house over 60% of the population (Cox, W., 2012). The figures reflect how pervasive overcrowding is in LDCs. There are simply not enough resources to cater to a population that grows at such speeds. Even if there were, the population increases much faster than proper housing can be built. Hence, it can be discerned that overpopulation leads to an increase in …show more content…
Much land has gone into urban development to counter the problem of overcrowding. Instantaneously, agriculture relies heavily on the availability of water. 75 to 90 percent of freshwater usage is channelled into agriculture (Population Action International, 2011). With these factors in play, there will be a higher risk of food insecurity, especially in LDCs. As overpopulation affects water and land scarcity, it can be seen that it indirectly affects food

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