1.1 - describe growth of world's population, associated problems and show understanding of causes and consequences of overpopulation and underpopulation

Describe the growth in the world's population and associated problems 

• the world population grew steadily for thousands of years until the 1800s 
• 1820: one billion 
• in 1960 it had reached 3 billion 
• in 1999, less than 40 years later, it doubled to 6 billion 
• global growth rate now at 1 billion every 15 years 

Problems: 

• overcrowding - spread of disease
• not enough resources to cope with number of people 
• pressure on services and infrastructure (schools, hospitals) 

Overpopulation, underpopulation and optimum: 

Optimum: When there are enough resources to meet the needs of a population 

• permits full utilisation of natural resources
• high standard of living 

Overpopulation: too few resources to meet the needs of the population 

consequences:

• low standard of living 
• high unemployment
• shortage of food
• overcrowding in urban areas (leading to spread of disease) 
• crime 
• pressure on infrastructure 
• water and air pollution 

causes: 

• high birth rates (lack of contraception)
• high levels of migration 

Underpopulation: population too small to develop resources effectively 

consequences: 

• shortage of workers and foreign investors to develop resources 
• high cost to import good that cannot be made in the country 

causes: 

• areas made be uninhabitable (e.g. large parts of north Canada) or undesirable to live in 
• areas not developed well, and are thus undesirable to live in 

however, if resources have been developed then the country can benefit from exporting any surplus resources (e.g. Canada)