The world has been currently under many dilemmas of population explosion. The causes of climate change and the scarcity of food and water are main tools that are hit by overpopulation globally. Many parts of the world have been reeling under a plethora of complex circumstances of starvation, lack of resources and disasters owing to the population explosion. It is esteemed by World Population Data Sheet (WPDS) that the world population will enhance from 7.7 billion now to 9.9 billion by 2050. It would also hit the 10 billion by 2053 if the process of population growth continues the same speed. Similarly, another Population Data Sheet reports that Africa’s population will reach 2.5 billion while the number of people in America will also rise from 223 million to 1.5 billion by 2050. For Pakistan, it is reported that the country will face 315 million population by 2050. Indonesia is projected to have 238.8 million Muslims in 2030, with India a close third with236.18 million and Bangladesh fourth with a projected 187.5 million.

Developed and under developing countries are also tangled in such a challenging wave of overpopulation. Similarly, Pakistan is also one among those states that are highly affected by the disease of overpopulation. Since its inception, the country has been bearing uncountable matters of population explosion. It is reported that it was 33 million people at the time of the country’s partition, expanded to 60 million in 1972, 130.5 million in 1998, 140 million in 2000 and currently 194.9 million in 2017. Nonetheless, it is predicted by population indicators that Pakistan will touch 256 million population index by 2030.

Demographers term this ‘zero population growth’. Until the mid-1970s women in Pakistan, on average, produced 6.6 children — compared to 6.2 in Iran and 6.9 in Bangladesh. In 2015, the average was reduced to 1.7 in Iran and 2.2 in Bangladesh but is still 3.7 in Pakistan.

For a country, overpopulation generates very critical and sensitive problems that create hindrances from becoming a truly developed state. If such a rapid growth of population goes on, the tantalizing matters will time and again affect the world scenario at large.

Not denying the fact that there are several factors that occur to be main causes of overpopulation including; illiteracy, a sheer lack of awareness and planning, early marriages, the failure of government policies against population explosion. No doubt, such aforementioned ills impact over economic growth, increase the unemployment rate, inaugurate social evils and enhance urbanization. Handling the rapid explosion of population, there must be a redemption in population policies by government. Besides, awareness through public seminars is another source of making people informed about the malign results of overpopulation.

WAJAHAT ABRO,

Shikarpur, July 16.