The world is not experiencing a population crisis. Rather, declining birth rates due to improved medical care and increased reproductive education in developing countries has led to decreased growth rates in those countries (Population Reference Bureau). In addition, more developed countries in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand now experience growth rates of less than 1 percent each year. Some European countries, including Russia, Estonia, Hungary and Ukraine now experience negative growth rates, meaning their populations are actually decreasing in size (Population Reference Bureau).
In 1789, Thomas Malthus studied the nature of population growth in Europe and concluded that the population was increasing faster than food production. Consequently, he concluded that at the then-rate of population growth, the world would eventually starve because it could not meet its food needs (Population Reference Bureau). Malthus, of course, did not account for technological advances that could aid food production and inhibit reproduction. But his observation that populations increase exponentially rather than arithmetically has been an important guide for current demographers (Population Reference Bureau).
Demographers project that growth rates will continue to decline in developing countries due to declining birth rates, which may help these countries slowly increase their standard of living. On the other hand, more developed countries with negative growth rates may eventually need to look to immigration as a means of sustaining their economies.
Five Facts from Population Connection
First, the world population grew by 4 billion during the 20th century. Because the world population was approximately 2 billion people at the beginning of the 1900s, the population increase during the 20th century was 200 percent. Today, more than 6 billion people inhabit planet Earth (Population and Environment).
Second, app...