Side Effects of the Increasing Population
Population maybe consider positive in the way of economic development of a country but too much population is not good for the development of the country and can be a cause of major crises which includes:-
1. Large population creates the problem of unemployment:
Fast growth in population means a large number of job seekers which is not possible to provide even after a planned development especially in the developing countries who sometimes have less than half job opportunities than the total number of Jobseekers which increases a high unemployment rate which is sometimes impossible to recover.
2. Rapid Population Growth creates Food Problem:
Increased population means more mouths to feed which, in turn, creates pressure upon the available stock of food. This is the reason the developing countries with an increasing population often face the problem of Food Shortage. Despite all their efforts, they are not able to feed their growing population.
3. Education:
Education is an important need for everyone. Knowledge, skill, and technology can be developing through education. It produces specialized manpower and creates social, cultural, and political awareness in people. But the high population had an adverse effect on the development of education. The increasing population can be a cause of the lack of availability of reading books and many other things that are necessary for quality education.
4. Health:
Overpopulation results in polluted water supplies. People die each year because of contaminated water-related diseases. The virus spread faster in a denser population which enables deadly mutations to continue, making the water unsafe for utilization.
5. Population reduces the rate of Capital Formation:
In underdeveloped countries, the composition is determined to increase capital formation. Due to the higher birth rate and low expectation of life in these countries, the percentage of dependents is very high. Nearly 40 to 50 percent of the population is in the non-productive age group which simply consumes and does not produce anything.
In underdeveloped countries, the rapid growth of population diminishes the availability of capital per head which reduces the productivity of its labor force. Their income, as a consequence, is reduced and their capacity to save is diminished which in turn adversely affect capital formation
6. It reduces per Capita Availability of Capital:
The large size of the population also reduces per capita availability in less developed countries. This is true in respect of developing countries where capital is scarce and its supply is inelastic.
A rapidly growing population leads to a progressive decline in the availability of capital per worker. This further leads to lower productivity and diminishing returns.
7. Adverse Effect on per Capital Income:
The rapid growth of population directly effects per capita income in an. Up to the “income optimizing level” the growth of population growth increases per capita income but beyond that it necessarily lowers the same. In a sense, so long as the rate of population growth is lower than the per capita income, the rate of economic growth will rise but if population growth exceeds the rate of economic growth, usually found in the case of less developed countries, per capita income must fall.
Grade VI
Sandilands