Chapter 4.2, Problem 6MI

Summary Introduction

To explain:

The reasons for the expected trend in human population between now and 2050.

Introduction:

The study of human population size, density, distribution, movement, death rate and birth rate is called demography. For thousands of years environmental conditions kept the population of humans at a relatively constant number, below the carrying capacity. Population trends can be altered by events such as a disease and a war.

Answer to Problem 6MI

The decline in human population growth between now and 2050 is mainly due to diseases such as AIDS and voluntary population control.

Explanation of Solution

Although the human population is still growing, the rate of its growth has slowed. The following graph shows percent increase in human population from the late 1940s through 2003. The graph also projects an estimated population increase through 2050.

  

As per the graph, there is a sharp dip in human population growth in the 1960s. This was mainly due to a famine in China. The human population growth reached its peak in 1962 when percent increase was 2.2. By 2003, the percent increase in human population growth had dropped to almost 1.2 percent. Population models predict that the overall human population growth rate to be 0.6 percent by 2050. This decline in human population growth between now and 2050 is mainly due to diseases such as AIDS and voluntary population control.