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Population growth refers to the rise in the number of individuals in a specific place. According to Kingsley (2017), Egypt is struggling with a vast “population explosion” that has been increasing exponentially for the past three years. The author adds that the number of births in Egypt in the year 2012 was 560,000 higher than in the year 2010. With this trend, Egypt is on course to surpass highly populated countries such as Russia and Japan by the year 2050, where the predictions are that it will have a population of more than 137.7 million.
Causes of Population Growth
Ignorance is a leading cause of population growth (Learning Simplified). As such, it is evident that education is crucial and plays a fundamental role towards controlling population growth. Admittedly, it aids to alter the thinking and opinion of the man, hence bringing significant transformation in people’s life. Illiterate people cannot decide what is right and what is wrong and they end up giving birth to a higher number of children.
Additionally, there is accelerating of this situation by the fact that they have no idea regarding family planning methods. Consequently, they cannot provide nourishing food to the children, given their poor state and lack of employment. The family status is also a contributing factor towards population growth. Undoubtedly, this is true for women given that those who emanate from a higher social state adopt smaller families compared to those from the inferior social status. Indeed, poverty is one of the main reasons that lead to population growth.
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Among the total population, there exists thirty-eight percent of people living below the poverty line. According to (Learning Simplified), problems facing these people make it tough for them to maintain the day to day life responsibilities and thus, they possess the perception that having many children would bring them a fortune.
Due to unemployment, people in developing countries experience higher population growth, and since they have to sit the whole day without working, they pass their time by involving in sexual activity thereby increasing the possibility of bearing more children. Polygamy is likewise an issue that leads to increased population growth, given that men in developing countries marry more than one woman, thus resulting in the siring of more children.
Potential Problems of Population Growth
An increasing population can drain a country’s natural resources. As in the case scenario of population increase in Egypt, Kingsley (2017) states that amidst a looming threat of population crisis, the country presently faces severe shortages regarding wheat, water, and energy. Also, the Egyptian government lacks the reserves of foreign currency that are needed to fund extra supplies that require importing into the country. The higher population also leads to increased unemployment, especially in developing countries, whose employment rate is low.
Lack of employment, especially among the youth, causes civic unrest and results in instances of insecurity. The high population also causes a decline in the education system (Kingsley, 2017). It is hard to maintain a quality education system given that the steep increase of Population cannot be sustained in the classes or by the teachers available at the particular time.
How the Problems are Different Between Developing and Developed Countries
The question of high population growth and its effects is more pronounced in developing countries which have a lower level of economy and poor population control measures in place, as compared to the already established countries.
Potential Solutions Towards Population Growth
Population control according to Kingsley (2017) is one of the probable solutions that needs adapting to curb this problem. Also, the government could look for measures to improve the employment levels of the country to relieve youths from their idleness. Combined with job creation, high female employment enables more women to be engaged in work rather than motherhood, therefore, reducing population growth. Education of the general public on means of population control as well as reasons for population control will help reduce the birth rate.
Teaching both women and men about the methods of lowering unprecedented pregnancies using contraception will aid in regaining control of population growth. Encouraging policies for curbing population growth both locally and abroad, seem to be the only way to lead to the attainment of the United Nations projections, as supposed by Warburg (2017). The author adds that adoption of population control measures such as birth control, family planning, and voluntary abortion is no longer considered as insane policies anymore but as keys to our ecological survival.
References
- Kingsley, P. (2017, November 30). Egyptian population explosion worsens social unrest. Retrieved April 4, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/16/egypt-population-explosion-social-unrest
- Learning Simplified. (n.d.). Causes of population growth. Retrieved April 4, 2018, from http://www.kullabs.com/classes/subjects/units/lessons/notes/note-detail/963
- Warburg, P. (2017, July 24). Population growth. Retrieved April 4, 2018
