Advantages And Disadvantages Of a Large Population: The planet has experienced significant population expansion throughout history. This increase in population has resulted in a greater diversity of culture, increased technology, and higher living standards. Population expansion, on the other hand, is increasingly coming at a cost — particularly to the environment. The environment, economics, and society are all being impacted by the world’s rapidly rising population. It has a varied impact on each country.
In comparison to emerging and underdeveloped countries, industrialized countries are less affected. Population expansion needs more resources. With adequate resources, developed countries make use of their population for the betterment and welfare of their citizens, but developing and underdeveloped countries face significant issues such as a lack of food, air, and water, illiteracy, poverty, a high mortality rate, unemployment, and deforestation as a result of this growth.
High population numbers contribute to the depletion of natural resources and the contamination of the environment. Some believe that population expansion is currently wreaking havoc on the world and even the existence of many natural environments, since overcrowding puts a significant strain on resources, causing problems.
While some argue that population expansion has little bearing on societal and economic progress, others argue that it does. The purpose of this article is to explore the benefits and drawbacks of having a high population in a civilization.
Advantages Of A Large Population
1. Human Resources Increased: A bigger quantity of human resources is one clear benefit that some people feel a large population can provide. This will most likely not result in additional jobs in areas where unemployment is a significant concern, but it will increase the number of individuals ready to work for less money.
It’s debatable if this is a good thing in a socioeconomic atmosphere that has traditionally put a high emphasis on class and money, but other individuals feel that having a large number of people eager to work may be beneficial to society.
2. Increased economic growth: With more people able to generate more things, population increase will contribute to economic growth. Higher tax revenues will be available to spend on public goods like health care and environmental initiatives. The obvious assessment is that GDP per capita, not GDP, is the most important factor.
Average living standards will not rise if economic expansion keeps pace with population growth. It is feasible, however, that population expansion will enhance per capita earnings. The economy can profit from a larger skill pool, economies of scale, and increased specialization as the population grows. All of this can lead to increased per capita income, as witnessed in major industrialized economies.
3. Economies of Scale: Economies of scale have allowed agriculture and industry to profit from population increase, allowing food and industrial production to rise even faster than the population. Thomas Malthus, for example, projected that population increase would lead to famine because we would be unable to feed the rising population at the turn of the nineteenth century.
However, his catastrophic forecasts did not come true because he did not realize that land, labor, and capital productivity could all rise more than proportionally. As farmers employ mechanization and economies of scale to boost food production, mean land productivity has greatly grown as a result of technological innovation and economies of scale.
4. Increased Industry Demand: According to logic, a country with a larger population will have more demand in particular industries. Many individuals in North America would consider this a good impact of population expansion because they live in a consumerist and capitalist culture.
A firm that sells a high-demand item or service will undoubtedly be highly successful as long as it has adequate output to match that demand. However, this is a dangerous path to take since resources are limited, even if demand is not.
5. Military Strengthening: A country can have a major military advantage over smaller ones if it can govern its massive people. If the economy remains stable and the government is able to effectively manage the country’s growing population, the military’s size, as well as military supplies, will grow.
Furthermore, a growth in population may lead to an increase in technology, allowing for the manufacture of more advanced military goods.
6. There is a critical mass: With a larger population, a critical mass of people may be reached, allowing for a richer, more dynamic civilization. There is less room for variation when populations are small. However, as the population expands, it will be possible to sustain a wider range of cultural events.
Disadvantages Of A Large Population
1. Excessive demand on natural resources: It is difficult to have a big population in a location without putting a strain on the natural resources there. Humans have wants and requirements, and these needs have an impact on the land’s natural resources.
For example, if fewer people used crude oil or gold in Nigeria, there would still be enough fuel for everyone, but because everyone wants these goods, they become expensive and scarce.
2. Population decreases the rate of capital production: The composition of the population in developing nations is regulated to increase capital formation. The percentage of dependents is relatively high in these nations due to the increased birth rate and short life expectancy. Nearly 40% to 50% of the population is in the non-productive age bracket, which just consumes rather than produces.
Rapid population increase in developing nations decreases the amount of capital available per person, lowering the labor force’s productivity. As a result, their income is lowered, and their ability to save is reduced, which has a negative impact on capital creation.
3. Unemployment is exacerbated by a large population: A rapidly growing population entails a huge number of people entering the labor market for whom jobs may not be available. Indeed, in developing nations, the number of job seekers is growing at such a rapid rate that, despite all efforts toward planned growth, it is impossible to employ everyone.
In these nations, unemployment, underemployment, and disguised employment are all frequent. The fast growth of the world’s population makes it nearly hard for economically developing countries to tackle their unemployment problems.
4. Rapid population growth is causing a food shortage: Increased population implies more mouths to feed, putting a strain on the available food supply. As a result, underdeveloped nations with rapidly rising populations are frequently confronted with food shortages. They are unable to feed their rising population despite all of their attempts to increase agricultural productivity.
Food shortage has two implications for economic development. To begin with, a lack of food leads to undernutrition, which reduces people’s productivity. It decreases the workers’ productive capability even further. Second, a lack of food forces them to import food grains, putting an unnecessary drain on their foreign exchange reserves.
5. Farming and Population: The bulk of the population lives in less developed nations, where agriculture is their main source of income. In rural places, population growth is relatively rapid, disrupting the land-to-human ratio. Furthermore, it has exacerbated the problem of hidden unemployment and lower per-capita agricultural produce in such economies, since the number of landless laborers has risen dramatically, accompanied by low salaries.
Low agricultural output has lowered people’s willingness to save and invest. As a result of the lack of modern farming practices, these economies deteriorate and get trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.
6. Negative Environmental Impact: Rapid population growth has resulted in environmental change. The number of jobless men and women has risen alarmingly as a result of rapid population expansion. As a result, many people are being compelled to relocate to environmentally sensitive areas such as hilltops and tropical woods. It leads to forest removal for farming, which results in a range of environmental impacts.
Aside from that, increasing population expansion encourages mass migration to urban regions, which is facilitated by industrialization. This results in polluted air, water, noise, and people in major cities and towns.
7. Congestion: There will be numerous sorts of congestion if there are too many individuals in a short location. Congestion on the roads is a serious issue all around the world. Congestion costs will only rise as the population grows, resulting in lost time, pollution, and production.
