Overcrowding leads to further demand for limited resources and this, in turn, can lead to more conflict and warfare. As humans seek out more resources, they take over land that was once the habitat of other species leading to huge biodiversity loss.
The Effects of Overpopulation
More people means an increased demand for food, water, housing, energy, healthcare, transportation, and more. And all that consumption contributes to ecological degradation, increased conflicts, and a higher risk of large-scale disasters like pandemics.
Based on this, the United Nations projects the world population, which is 7.8 billion as of 2020, to level out around 2100 at 10.9 billion with other models proposing similar stabilization before or after 2100.
Earth's capacity
Many scientists think Earth has a maximum carrying capacity of 9 billion to 10 billion people. [ How Do You Count 7 Billion People?] One such scientist, the eminent Harvard University sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson, bases his estimate on calculations of the Earth's available resources.
Human population growth impacts the Earth system in a variety of ways, including: Increasing the extraction of resources from the environment. These resources include fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal), minerals, trees, water, and wildlife, especially in the oceans.
In fact, so many people are on the planet today that we're driving the population reduction of other species, as well as a host of other environmental problems. If this trend of destruction continues, it might result in the eventual downfall of not only many of the earth's animal species but the human race as well.
Geographer Chris Tucker estimates that 3 billion is a sustainable number, provided human societies rapidly deploy less harmful technologies and best management practices. Other estimates of a sustainable global population also come in at considerably less than the current population of 8 billion.
Recent estimates of Earth's carrying capacity run between two billion and four billion people, depending on how optimistic researchers are about international cooperation to solve collective action problems.
The world's current (overall as well as natural) growth rate is about 1.14%, representing a doubling time of 61 years. We can expect the world's population of 6.5 billion to become 13 billion by 2067 if current growth continues.
Tech entrepreneur and multi-billionaire Elon Musk claims that underpopulation rather than overpopulation is the greatest threat that faces humanity, despite the current destruction of nature and the millions of people living in extreme poverty.
Eventually, Earth's population could decline to between 6 and 7 billion people by the 22nd century, according to population researchers. One reason for the projected shift is the declining average number of births per woman, especially among more developed regions with more educated women.
The world population continues to grow at an alarming rate that is breaking previous records every day. However, a new analysis claims that, in contrast to past predictions, the world's population may only reach its peak in 2050 at 9 billion people.
The pros of high population density include access to resources, cultural diversity, economic growth, increased demand for goods and services, and cost efficiency. The cons of high population density include limited resources, increased levels of pollution, social problems, and pressure on the natural environment.
Together, China and India are home to more than one third of the world's population. For many decades, the size and growth of the Chinese and Indian populations have been a focus of global concerns about the rapid growth of the human population and its implications for sustainable development (United Nations, 2022c).
Overpopulation is directly affecting China's economy by higher unemployment rates, food shortages, increased environmental change, and reducing the standard of living.
World population projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to a new United Nations report being launched today.
Estimates vary, but we're expected to reach "peak human" around 2070 or 2080, at which point there will be between billion and 10.4 billion people on the planet.
The world population is projected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion by 2100.
Among all animals, ants outweigh us in biomass — putting billions and billions of tons up against humans' fewer than 500 million. And while they're both tiny and lacking a backbone, krill are the champs among animals worldwide, in terms of numbers, with a population estimated at 500 trillion.
When demographers attempt to forecast changes in the size of a population, they typically focus on four main factors: fertility rates, mortality rates (life expectancy), the initial age profile of the population (whether it is relatively old or relatively young to begin with) and migration.
It is a sudden increase in number of individuals in a specific area at a given time. Population explosion is a cause of serious concern for all of us . Its impact is already showing in many areas caused by a sudden increase in population. The world population is growing at the rate of 2% per year.
Conclusion. Overpopulation may cause a variety of problems, including natural resource depletion, environmental pollution and degradation, and loss of the natural environment.