A Portal on Sustainability

Population Growth

04.05.2005 · Research Group on the Global Future

Although the growth of population has decreased in recent years, it is estimated that the overall population will climb to eight to 10 billion people in 2050. While the North's population is aging, the South's is growing increasingly. During the last 50 years the number of people on earth doubled. What impact does this have on our global future?

Find more information in our statistics section on World Population and Urban/Rural Population.

Global Statistic of demographic trends.

Booklet for information on the demographic change in Germany.

For some, population growth lies at the heart of the sustainability debate, which may be resolved by slowing down growth rates and speak of an Y6B-problem, others even call for a one-child-family-policy to stop population growth.

For general information on population and development, visit the United Nations Population Information Network's homepage, which provides for a variety of information on all issues related to population and population growth.

The report of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division says that whatever the overall increase, the world's population is likely to be significantly older in 300 years.

A virtual exhibition featured by the Musée de l'Homme of Paris illustrates population growth and poses key questions and outlines some of the issues we are facing today in respect of population growth.

Population Action International (PAI) is an organization that is dedicated to advancing policies and programs that slow population growth in order to enhance the quality of life for all people. It advocates the expansion of voluntary family planning, other reproductive health services, and educational and strategies that promise to improve the lives of individual women and their families while slowing the world's population growth.

Population Connection, a national nonprofit organization working to slow population growth and achieve a sustainable balance between the Earth's people and its resources, aims in the same direction. The organization seeks to protect the environment and ensure a high quality of life for present and future generations by education and advocacy programs that are directed at influencing public policies, attitudes, and behavior on national and global population issues and related concerns. While some of the ideas featured at PC have to look at skeptically, the site offers a useful list of information on population and the environment in general.

Clark Wolf, a philosopher at the University of Georgia, Athens, provides a philosophical approach to issues of population growth and intergenerational aspects of sustainability. He explores whether there really is a population problem and continues with taking a look at repressive population control measures that have been adopted in some parts of the developing world and at immigration control measures taken in the developed world.