FACTORS

AFFECTING
POPULATION
GROWTH
Sualeha Maryam
SR III-A
Decrease in Population
Growth

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 Food Supply
 Competition for Food & Shelter
Death Rate>Birth Rate
 Predator-Prey Relationship
 Diseases
Food Supply Competition for Food
 A population can grow steadily in ideal
conditions such as availability of food. & Shelter
 This enables organisms to have a healthy  Individuals of species that eat the same
food intake, resultantly, they breed more food will be in competition with each other;
successfully to produce healthy offspring. especially in case of limited food supply.
 Limited food supply may lead to starvation  There will also be competition for shelter
which can result in the death of organisms, and mates.
leaving less number of the organism behind.  Individuals of species who get more
 The organisms left behind may choose to exposed places to seek shelter will have
emigrate to another place where food supply less chances of successful breeding and
is sufficient. birth of offspring-this will decrease birth
 This will significantly reduce the population of rate/increase death rate.
the area.  If an individual is unable to get a mate,
they will not have an offspring, this means
no addition to the population.
Predator-Prey Relations
 In a habitat with predators, if too many prey are eaten, their
population might drop faster than they can reproduce.
 Predator and prey populations usually go up and down over
time. When predators increase, the number of prey tends to
decrease, but if there are fewer prey available, the predator
population will eventually decrease too. This cycle repeats
itself unless other factors change things.

 Here, the number of lynxes and snowshoe hares was

tracked for a century (1845-1945) based on the fur
trade. When the hare population grew, lynxes, which eat
hares, also increased because there was more food.
But as more lynxes ate more hares, the hare population
dropped, leading to a decline in the number of lynxes
too. This cycle kept repeating over time.
Disease
 In large populations, disease can easily spread from
individual to individual.

 In 2013, the bacterial pathogen which was killing olive

trees, Xylella Fastidosa was first detected.
It has reduced the olive crop by 60%.

 The covid-19 disease, found in 2020, has affected the

human population.
 Since it was unfamiliar to scientists, developing an
effective vaccine and properly preparing hospitals to
care for patients and protect healthcare workers took
time.
Increase in Population Growth

 Life Expectancy
 Decrease in Death Rate
Life Expectancy
 Life expectancy is the average age a newborn can expect to live.
 In Europe, it rose from 40–50 years between 1830 and 1900 to around
65 years by 1950 and now stands at 79–84 years. In sub-Saharan
Africa, life expectancy was improving and reached 58 years, but the
AIDS epidemic reduced it to around 45 years. Owing to improves
nutrition, HIV treatment facilities and water access, it has since risen
to about 61 years.
 In developing countries, many children under 5 die early, while only a
quarter of deaths involve people over 60. In contrast, in Europe, most
deaths involve people over 60, and far fewer young children die.
 Having more people over 60 doesn’t significantly affect population
growth since they can't have children. However, a decrease in child
deaths allows more children to grow up and have families of their own,
which leads to continued population growth. This is why the population
has grown quickly in many newly industrialized countries since 1950.
Decrease in Death Rate
 Improved nutrition, housing, sanitation, and clean water
reduced infectious diseases, lowering death rates.
 Later, vaccines greatly reduced diseases like diphtheria
and polio, and smallpox was eradicated in 1977.
 In the developing world, improvements in sanitation,
water, and nutrition have been slower, but modern
medicine, vaccines, and insecticides have contributed
significantly to population growth since 1950.
 Growth & Stability
 Around 300 years ago, the world's population was stable because both the birth and death
rates were high. Many children didn’t survive to adulthood, and many mothers died during
childbirth. Having many children was important for help on farms and support in old age.
 Over the past 300 years, the death rate has decreased while the birth rate hasn't dropped as
quickly, causing rapid population growth. When fertility rates decrease, there are fewer young
people and a higher proportion of older people who need care.
 Birth rates drop as communities become wealthier due to:
Longer education delaying marriage and increasing family planning knowledge.
Improved living conditions reducing child deaths.
Less need for large families due to modern agriculture and city living.
Greater use of birth control methods.
 Social improvements that lead to a lower birth rate take
time, but some countries are trying to speed up this
process by encouraging smaller families or penalizing
large ones.
 Despite these efforts, the global population continues to
 The United
grow and isNations projects
currently that the
around 7.6 birth and death rates may
billion.
balance by 2100, at which point the world population could
reach 11.2 billion, assuming food supplies can meet the
demand.
 The Western world produces more food than its people need,
but in parts of Africa, drought and population pressures lead to
famine.
 Even if food were available in these regions, poverty often
makes it inaccessible. Ideally, regions need to either grow more
food or reduce their population to become self-sufficient.
 Some countries grow cash crops like tobacco, cotton, tea, and
coffee to earn money for imports. This is beneficial as long as
they can still feed their people, but when food becomes scarce,
cash crops can't sustain them.
Population Pressures & Demand for
Global Resources
 Growing population means increased
agriculture, and industrialization which put
more strain on the environment unless
carefully managed.
 This may cause damage to the ozone layer,
increase in carbon dioxide levels, radioactive
waste, and soil erosion, which ultimately limits
population growth and results in
environmental challenges.  As human population grows, the demand for global resources
such as food, fuel, construction materials, water etc. also
increases.
 Recycling can help in meeting these demands. However, as
more land is needed for building and farming, natural habitats
are being destroyed, which may lead to decrease in
populations of species whose habitat is being destroyed.