1green steps | factsheet POPULATION GROWTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The world’s population

The global population grew from 1 billion in 1800 to 7 billion in 2011.

It is growing by around 1.2 percent each year and is expected to reach 11 billion by the end of the 21st century. The biggest growth occurs in the poorest nations, indicating the direct linkbetween high population growth and low standards of living. Nations with high standards of livinggenerally have low or zero rates of population growth.

What do you think?

Split into three groups, with each group defending one of the claims below:

1. The Earth can support 7 billion people now and will be able to support anynumber of people in the future because: � Science and technology will ensure that food production and energy supply will continue

to meet rising demand. � We can expand the area of land available for housing and growing food by cutting down

the rain forest. � We can use pesticides, chemical fertilisers and genetically modified crops to increase

farm yields and feed the growing population. � We can extract more oil to fuel more cars and satisfy our increased need for mobility.� Ultimately, jobs are more important than environmental quality.

2 factsheet | green stepsPOPULATION GROWTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

2. Even though we are only a small group of people among 7 billion, we still have aresponsibility to protect the Earth. We should accept that:� Without halting the rapid growth in population, it will be impossible for us to solve global

challenges. � We must protect the habitats of endangered species by not using them for development —

for any reason.� Car producers should be required to make all their vehicles fuel efficient, even though it may

make the vehicles more expensive. � Arable land should not be used for housing, business or other non-agricultural purposes,

as all available arable land is needed to produce food.

3. Our country is too small. There is nothing we can do to help alleviatepopulation-related pressures. � Water pollution is inevitable and we should not waste money trying to prevent it. � If we are to feed 7 billion people on the planet, the populations of developed countries must

reduce the amount of meat they consume.� Governments in countries with fast-growing populations should make laws to limit

the number of children that couples can have. � Highly developed, wealthy countries should accept immigrants from developing countries

with high rates of population growth.

What do you know?

1 What was the world’s population in 2011?

� a. 900 million � d. 8.5 billion � b. 2.5 billion � e. 12 billion � c. 7 billion

2 By how many people does the world’s population grow each year?

� a. 11 million � d. 83 million � b. 25 million � e. 160 million� c. 45 million

3 If the world’s population continues to grow at its current rate, approximately how longwill it take for it to double?� a. 9 years � d. 95 years � b. 22 years � e. 148 years� c. 58 years

4 According to the United Nations, at what size is the population expected to plateau?

� a. 5–7 billion � d. 20–25 billion � b. 9–11 billion � e. It will always continue to rise � c. 13–15 billion

3green steps | factsheet POPULATION GROWTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

5 Which of the following is the main reason for the population explosion?

� a. Decreasing death rates � d. Lower infant mortality � b. Increasing birth rates � e. Longer life expectancy� c. Advances in preventive medicine

6 Which of the following is likely to be affected by population growth?

� a. The amount of land available for agriculture � b. The amount of clean water available� c. The amount of energy used daily � d. The number of people who are unemployed � e. All of the above

7 Which country was the most populous in 2011?

� a. India � d. Mexico � b. China � e. Russia� c. United States

8 Which country is projected to be the most populous in 2050?

� a. India � d. Mexico � b. China � e. Pakistan� c. United States

9 Which region’s population has the highest birth rate and the lowest life expectancy?� a. South East Asia � c. Latin America � b. Eastern Europe � d. Sub-Saharan Africa

10 Australia is the only nation in the world with both high population growth and high standards of living. � a. True � b. False

ANSWERS:1 – c �2 – d (approximately the population of Germany) �3 – c �4 – b (expected to happen by 2050) �5 – a (the decrease in death rateshas been the main cause of rapid population growth over the past two centuries) �6 – e �7 – b (China – 1.3 billion) �8 – a (India – 1.7 billion) �9 – d(Sub-Saharan Africa – 1 in 12 babies do not survive and life expectancy is only 55 years) �10 – a (Australia's population growth is around 1.8 percent peryear, which is higher than the global average. It is caused mainly by very high immigration (one of the highest immigration rates in the world).