Human Population

Human Population

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Population

Population may be defined as a group of organisms belonging to one species which occupy a given area at a given time.

Or ,

Number of individuals of one species occupying a specific geographical area.

Few characteristics of population are – Population density, Birth rate, Death rate, Age distribution, Biotic potential, Rate of Dispersion and Growth form .

Need for studying population

  1. The consequences of uncontrolled population growth.
  2. Advantages of a small family.
  3. Growth distribution and density of population.
  4. The relation of population to the standards of life.

Factors affecting population

  1. Birth rate (Natality) – The number of live births produced per 1000 people of the population per year.
  2. Death rate (Mortality) – Number of deaths per 1000 people of the population per year.
  3. Immigration – It is the entry of additional persons into the existing population of the country from outside.
  4. Emigration – It is the departure of persons from the existing population of a country to a foreign country.

    Change in population = [Births + Immigration] – [Deaths + Emmigration]
  5. Population growth rate – It is the number of persons added per 100 people of a population per year.

Annual average growth rate = [(P2 – P1) / (P1 * N)] * 100

Where,

P2 = Population size in the present census

P1 = Population size in previous census

N= Number of years between the two census

Important terms regarding Population

1. Census

  • Census is an official count of the pupil of a country, state, or district with the ststistics of age, sex, education, employment e.t.c.
  • In India, first census was conducted in 1872.

2. Demography

  • Branch of biology that deals with the statistical study of human population is called demography.
  • It deals with the following phenomena -:
    • Fluctuations in population
    • Population composition , i.e. , age groups
    • Population density.

3. Demographic transition: It is the transition from high fertility and high mortality to low fertility and low mortality.

4. Population density : Number of individuals of a species per unit area is defined as population density.

Population density = (Total number of individuals) / (Total area)

  • As of 2024, India’s population density is 438.58 people per square kilometer, which is a 0.92% increase from 2023.

Population Explosion

The rapid sharp prolific increase in the population of human beings is called population explosion.

Main reasons for population explosion

  1. Better health care at all age groups and fewer deaths due to better medical aids.
  2. Minimized food shortage.
  3. Balanced and improved nutrition for the growing children.
  4. Large scale immunization against communicable diseases.
  5. High rate of illiteracy in rural areas have led to the population explosions.
  6. Desire for male child.

Main reason for population explosion in India

  1. Illiteracy
  2. Traditional beliefs – Among the people from lower class society children are regarded as a gift of god , therefore they make no effort to avoid pregnancy.
  3. Economic reasons – Children are considered to be helping hands to increase the family income.
  4. Desire for a male child
  5. Religious and social customs – Early marriage and universality of marriages.
  6. Lack of family planning
  7. Mortality rate among low income group – Due to high infant mortality rate, lower groups think it is safer to produce more children so that some of them may survive.

Consequences of overpopulation

  1. Effect of overpopulation on families
    • Food
    • Education
    • Medical aid
    • Sanitation
    • Household goods
    • Poverty
  2. Effect of population explosion of country
    • Population explosion and increased consumption
    • Population explosion and urbanization – Urbanization or Urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change.
      1. Useful consequences of Urbanization
        • It can provide much more employment facilities.
        • People can be awakened by giving them better education.
        • Better medical facilities are available which can save lives of people.
      2. Harmful consequences of Urbanization
        • Overcrowding of cities causes shortage of accommodation.
        • It also causes pollution.
        • It leads to shortage of transportation.
  3. Depletion of natural resources
    • Resource is any natural energy or substance which is used by human beings for their welfare.
    • The natural resources which are under pressure due to population explosion include food, water, land, energy, forests, minerals, fossil fuels, etc.
    • Judicious use of natural resources for a more stable development so that the further generation can utilize the resources without imparting the ability of future generations to use these resources is called sustainable development.
    • It can be achieved by reduction of excessive use of natural resources, recycling and reuse of resources and more use of renewable resources such as solar energy, wind power, solar batteries, etc.
  4. Unemployment, social evils and violence
    • Due to overpopulation, opportunities for employment are decreasing which results in cause of so many social evils such as corruption, snatchings, violence, and even terrorism.
  5. Lack of infrastructure and basic needs such as medical facilities, educational institutions and means of transportations.
  6. Environmental degradation, pollution and waste generation – All components of the environment like air, water, land, etc. have been contaminated due to overpopulation. Disposal of waste particularly non biodegradable is the biggest problem of the present day.

Population Control

The control of population can be achieved by reducing the birth rate.

Need for adopting control measures

  • Per capita income comes down
  • Natural resources are decreasing
  • General health goes down

Methods to control population

  1. GENERAL METHODS
    1. Education
    2. Family planning – The inverted red triangle is a popular sign for family planning.
    3. Catastrophic control
      • Carrying capacity is the ability of the environment to make available the food, shelter and non renewable resources to the population.
      • When population exceeds the carrying capacity of its environment, there is a rapid decline in the population due to starvation, epidemic malnutrition, e.t.c.
  2. CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS
      • Fertility control or contraception is a method adopted by humans by which pregnancy can be prevented.
      • It includes all those methods which prevents the fertilization of egg.

Various methods for family control are divided into two categories : a) Permanent methods ; b) Temporary methods

Permanent Methods

        • Sterilization is a method by which a male or a female is rendered unable to procreate (reproduce).
          1. Vasectomy – Surgical cutting of the vasa differentia of the males and ligation of the cut ends to control fertility is called vasectomy.
          2. Tubectomy – Surgical cutting of the fallopian tubes of a woman and ligation of cut ends for the control of fertility is called tubectomy.
          3. Laparoscopy – This technique is used to ligate the fallopian tubes so that eggs may not pass into the uterus for development.
          4. MTP – Medical Termination of Pregnancy or Abortion is legally permitted in government hospitals at no cost by a desired female –
            • Who has somehow become pregnant and the couple does not want to have the child.
            • If there is any serious genetic disease in the embryo diagnosed by a special test.

Temporary Methods – The temporary methods for population control are – :

  1. Abstinence- Practice of refraining from sexual activity, which can include vaginal, oral or anal sex.
  2. Withdrawal technique (Coitus interruptus)- The withdrawal method of contraception (coitus interruptus) happens when you take the penis out of the vagina and ejaculate outside the vagina to try to prevent pregnancy.
  3. Safe period or rhythm method
  4. Mechanical methods
  5. Chemical devices

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