Population and Population Growth

In Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism we suggest that debate over the consequences of population growth involves as much ideology as it does empirical study; that many arguments about population growth tend to mask other agendas including protecting the way of life of members of core countries, and blaming countries on the periphery for problems that are not of their making.  The following sites all will provide information on population growth, but if you are interested in the ideology issue, contrast the sites, Ideology of Population Concerns, with International Society of Malthus and Regarding Population: Humans are Dense.

6 Billion Human Beings: An Interactive Game about Population
http://www.popexpo.net/home.htm

This interactive exhibit from the Musee de l’Homme in Paris is the place to learn about some basic principles of population growth.  You provide some personal information, and you can find out what the world was like when you were born and what it may be like as you age.  And it explains why. You will find out how such cultural factors as age at marriage, breastfeeding, and birth control influence fertility rates.   Excellent presentation, but be aware of some biases; for example, the exhibit attributes the rapid population growth of the past century almost entirely to declining death rates.   However, as we discuss in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, there is evidence that population began to climb rapidly well before modern health practices intervened and that the increase was due to changing economic and social patterns associated with industrialization and colonialism.  Thus population began rapidly increasing in Europe in the eighteenth century and in other areas of the world in the nineteenth century.

1998 Revision of the World Population Estimates and Projections—UN http://www.popin.org/pop1998/

The United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN) recently released the 1998 revised estimates and projections for the world population, which currently stands at 5.9 billion and expands at 1.33 percent per year (about 78 million). This site offers a briefing packet which highlights all of the major findings of the 1998 revision with text and tables. POPIN reports a declining global fertility rate, but perhaps their most striking finding concerns the effect of AIDS/HIV on African population rates, especially in sub-Saharan countries such as Botswana and Zimbabwe, where one in four and one in five adults respectively are infected. (The Scout Report, 11/6/98)

Demographics of an Aging Population
http://library.advanced.org/10120/cyber/extended/demographics.html

If fertility rates are truly declining, one consequence will be an aging population; that is as fewer young enter the population, the average age will increase.   This has numerous implications.  For example, as the population ages, health care costs are likely to increase, an issue you can examine at the Web site on The Looming Crisis: Meeting the Needs of an Aging Nation.  But at the Demographics of an Aging Population site you can browse and discover the global implications of an aging population.

Demography & Population Studies
coombs.anu.edu.au/ResFacilities/DemographyPage.html

A comprehensive list of links to demographic and population studies on the Internet.

Ideology of Population Concerns: The X Files (A must read!)
www.africa2000.com/XNDX/xndx.htm

A remarkable site dedicated to exposing the sometimes racist, ethnocentric, and xenophopic agenda lurking in the so-called population debate.  As we point out in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, not all people who are alarmed about population growth are racist; however the alarms about population growth often mask the real origins of problems for which population growth is blamed.  For an excellent article that explores the connection behind alarmist projections about population control and racist and imperialist agendas, check out Population Control, Racism, & Imperialism--The Connection.

Essay on Population and Consumption
www.ecouncil.ac.cr/about/contrib/populat/Consump.htm

An excellent piece by Francisco J. Mata and Larry J. Onisto on the contribution to pollution of consumption as opposed to population growth.   What characteristics of countries, according to the article, most contribute to environmental degradation? According to the authors, which countries have the greatest responsibility for reducing environmental damage?

International Database Population Pyramids--US Census Bureau
www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbpyr.html

U.S. Census Bureau site that allows you to access the population pyramid of countries around the world for past years, as well as future projections.

International Society of Malthus
www.igc.apc.org/desip/malthus

A good site to find material representing a Malthusian or neo-Malthusian perspective on the issue of population growth.  What the site seems to neglect pointing out is that Malthus was less interested in explaining population growth than he was in finding an explanation for poverty.  His approach essentially laid the blame for poverty at the feet of the poor, thus conveniently neglecting the affects of industrial expansion (see Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, p 156ff).

KZPG Overpopulation News Network
http://www.iti.com/iti/kzpg/index.html

"KZPG has the world's most comprehensive set of email lists, most extensive web site, and most advanced discussion forums dedicated to stopping population growth."   The site contains an excellent list of news stories and short summaries of articles.

Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)
www.nidi.nl/

"The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute NIDI is an independent institute engaged in the scientific study of population. Research carried out at NIDI aims to contribute to the description, analysis, explanation or prediction of demographic trends in the past, the present and the future."

Paul Ehrlich and the Population Bomb
www.pbs.org/population_bomb/

A site produced by KQED, San Francisco on Paul Ehrlich's book, The Population Bomb.  Ehrlich was largley responsible for revising the Malthusian concerns about population growth (see Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, p 156ff).  In his later works, Ehrlich placed greater emphasis on core consumption patterns as the source of problems he initially blames on population growth, but he largely retained the rhetoric of Malthusian concerns.

Population Institute
http://www.populationinstitute.org/

Here's how the Population Institute defines its mission: "Overpopulation is a problem that impacts on virtually all human activities worldwide.... Hunger, disease, poverty, deforestation, soil erosion, ozone depletion, climatic change -- the most devastating problems we face today -- are directly attributable to or exacerbated by infinite numbers of people living in a finite world.  To raise the alarm, the Population Institute spends most of its time and budget on educating the media and the public -- everyone from college students to business and government leaders -- about the dire effects of overpopulation already upon us and the frightening consequences of letting this disaster continue on its uncontrolled course."  A good example of Malthusian thinking at its best (worst?)

Population Reference Bureau
www.igc.apc.org/prb/

Articles, papers, and links to other sites; Founded in 1929 the Population Reference Bureau is the oldest policy institute in the United States addressing policy concerns.

Population Research Institute
http://www.pop.org/

The Institute is dedicated to refuting the idea that population growth and economic development are in conflict, and in exposing human rights abuses related to population control programs.  The Institute, located in Falls Church Virginia, may have a political and/or religious agenda and has been accused of being a "hate group"; its page of links includes only organizations that agree with its agenda.  But it may be useful in providing an alternative to the Malthusian perspective evident in other places and providing an example of how population growth is treated from the right of the political spectrum.

Regarding Population: People are Dense
http://overpop.org/

A site that provides a good example of a group that blames overpopulation for everything from water shortages to mental illness.  Examine some of the material on the site, and look for the number of times consumption patterns in core countries are mentioned as a source of the problems discussed.

The State of World Population 1998: The New Generations—UNFPA [.pdf] http://www.unfpa.org/SWP/SWPMAIN.HTM

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)  annual report highlighting new developments in world population. This year’s report focuses on the ramifications of the rapid increases in two segments of global population: youth less than fifteen years-old and elderly more than 65 years-old.  (Scout Report, 9/11/98)

Six Billion and Beyond (PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/sixbillion/

U.S. Census World Data
www.census.gov/ftp/pub/ipc/www/

Excellent source of information for up-to-date world population information.   You can find information on historical trends, present population figures, as well as population projections.  Particularly useful is the International Data Base, a computerized data bank containing statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for all countries of the world. Find out, for example, the population rank of all countries for any year from 1950 to 2050.

Worldwide Directory of Population Institutions—UN POPIN [Frames] www.visitus.com/~unpopdir/

Comprehensive list compiled by the United Nations of groups addressing population issues. 

World Population: A Guide to the WWW
http://home.nycap.rr.com/history/populate.html

Richard Jensen's compiliation of WWW sites pertaining to population and population growth.  Categories of sites include general resources, country population overviews, cases studies, fertility, morbidity, migration, urbanization, and policy perspectives.

World Population Profile: 1998 [.pdf, 167p., .WK1, .zip]
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/wp98.html

"Just released on the Web by the US Census Bureau, this report offers "a comprehensive assessment of world demographic prospects as we approach the end of this century and the beginning of the next." The report highlights major demographic trends and the roles played by the developed and developing nations in these trends, and identifies some of the key elements and questions behind global population change. In addition, the report features a special chapter on one of the most important health and demographic events of modern history: the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic." (Scout Report, 3/19/99)