India is the second most populous country in the world. This has its positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect is that most of the people in this country are below 25.
This means that we don’t have to fear for our economic productivity unlike countries like Japan where there are more retired people than young people. This graying of the population spells doom for Japan’s economic growth as it won’t have enough young and healthy people to work in its offices and factories. It will have to import labor from other countries to take up these jobs.
The negative aspects far outweigh the positive aspect of a sizeable population. Overpopulation strains the natural resources of a country. People migrate from villages to cities in search of better opportunities leading to overcrowding and social unrest. Poverty will increase and so will tension between the haves and have-nots.
Image Source : d.ibtimes.co.uk
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Pollution, water shortages, power shortages, land encroachments, crime and violence will also escalate as the nation groans under the weight of providing for this excess population. As the world becomes hot, flat and crowded, as Thomas Friedman puts it, the pace of global warming will also quicken, threatening the very survival of the world. There will be massive deforestation to make room for humans.
This will cause loss of valuable flora and fauna and impact biodiversity. The next big wars, it is said, will be fought over water which is already a scarce resource in many countries. In crowded urban areas, lack of sanitation will cause epidemics and diseases. So definitely there should be some curbs on population.
China went to extreme lengths like mandating one child per family which had its own adverse effects on Chinese society. The solution has to be multi- pronged. Encouraging adoptions, banning child marriages and providing incentives for those who limit their families are some ways to tackle this problem.
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But one thing that can go a long way is education. The effect of education on population control has been well documented. In fact it could be said, the higher the education levels, the lower the birth rates.
