population explosion

The rapid and dramatic rise in world population that has occurred over the last few hundred years. Between 1959 and 2000, the world's population increased from 2.5 billion to 6.1 billion people. According to United Nations projections, the world population will be between 7.9 billion and 10.9 billion by 2050.

Most of the growth is currently taking place in the developing world, where rates of natural increase are much higher than in industrialized countries. Concern that this might lead to overpopulation has led some countries to adopt population control policies. However, since people in developing countries consume far less, especially of non-renewable resources, per head of population than people in industrialized countries, it has been argued that the West should set an example in population control instead of giving, for example, universal child benefit.

The rate of population growth tends to be inversely related to the level of women's education; except in industrialized countries, where there is a somewhat higher birth rate in such countries as Sweden, with good childcare facilities and equality for women in the workplace, than in, for example, the UK, where the paucity of such provision may force women to choose between motherhood and a career.