As the world is observing World Population Day, it reminds us of our role and responsibilities towards the issues related to population. According to United Nations, while it took hundreds of thousands of years to reach it to 1 billion, in merely 200 years, it grew sevenfold. This alarming trend warns us of the challenges arising globally due to it.
UN trend shows that the world population reached 7 billion in 2011, and today, it has climbed to around 7.7 billion, expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100, which is a matter of concern.
Theme – 2021
World population day is observed every year on the 11th of July. The theme for this year is – ‘Rights and choices are the answer: whether baby boom or bust, the solution to shifting fertility rates lies in prioritizing the reproductive health and rights of all people’.
Significance of the Day
The United Nations Development Programme’s Governing Council created World Population Day in 1989. On July 11, 1987, the population day witnessed the Five Billion Day or the estimated day when the world’s population surged above five billion people. Since then, July 11th is marked as World Population Day.
This day reminds us of the hazardous effect of overpopulation in various areas and its impact on the ecosystem and humanity. Other issues covered are family planning, gender equality, maternal health and health concerns of a childbearing mother.
Overpopulation – Reasons
- The decline in Mortality Rate
New technologies and medical systems in medicine have found cures for deadly diseases. The dreadful diseases, which used to kill people earlier, can easily be cured now. Due to this, the death rate of people has come down. People’s life expectancy has increased.
With the boom in the medical sciences, we have controlled the death rate but contrarily have supported the increase in the rate of population.
- The surge in Birth Rate
Medical Advancement in issues concerned with reproduction has promoted the childbirth rate. Conception related problems have come down to a great extent, and fertility rates have increased by newly developed technologies. It is also a cause of the increased population.
- Illiteracy
Illiteracy and lack of knowledge is a big reason for boosting the population. People do not know the methods of population control. Due to unawareness, people fail to understand that over-population drastically affects our lives. Inadequate resources and increased consumption dis-balance the ecosystem and also affects the economy and human wellbeing of a nation.
Some Facts about the Population
- China has the largest population in the world – 1.4 billion.
- India is the second-largest populated country with a population of 1.3 billion.
- The global population rises by more than 80 million every year.
- More than three-quarters of the world population lives in Africa and Asia.
- By 2024 India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country.
- Nigeria has the world’s fastest-growing population.
- Tokyo is the world’s largest city with 37 million inhabitants, followed by Delhi with 29 million.
Data Sources: UN Publications, Zee News, Reuters
