By The Editor
Reader’s Digest Universal Dictionary defines optimum as the best or most favourable condition, degree, or amount for a practical solution. Hence optimum population means the maximum population that a country or state can sustain depending on resources. Thus some can barely support or maintain the number of people living in them while others could accommodate far more. The world is generally classified into two different categories by demographers namely the more developed countries (MDCs) and less developed countries (LDCs). Countries in the first category have higher per capita income, higher literacy level and educational attainment, larger proportion of urban population, lower birth rate and lower rate of population growth, higher status of women, better means of transportation and communication, better facilities of medical health care, higher consumption on energy, more industrialised, etc. According to United Nations (UN), MDCs are North America, Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and temperate South America whereas the rest are LDCs.
Growth population globally in earlier centuries was sporadic due to frequent occurrences of plague, cholera, starvation, skirmishes, wars, famines, etc. With advancement in various fields and outcome of industrial revolution population of Europe grew rapidly as well as in the New World due to heavy migration. Then there was big a decline during the two World Wars due to larger number of deaths. After World War II, began the economic recovery followed by “baby boom” in Europe resulting in increase of birth rate and high rate of population growth consistently from 1960 onwards. On the contrary, LDCs in spite of poverty and backwardness had very high rate of population growth and unless their birth rate is drastically reduced they will continue to rise further which will create various problems afterwards. There is, however, tendency to assume densely- populated poor states as overpopulated and sparsely-peopled wealthy states as under-populated. But such assumptions are misleading because there are other factors also to be taken into consideration. Hence concept of optimum population arises which includes economic measures like level of employment, consumption pattern, per capita income, trade and commerce, industrialisation, etc and all these have an effect on optimistic population growth.
Previous studies have painted gloomy picture of the world even to the extent of predicting doomsday in near future and the long-feared “population bomb” may not happen at all. According to earlier UN estimates, the world population would hit 9.7 billion by middle of 21st century and continue to rise for several decades afterwards. Latest study reveals that the world’s population will probably reach a high of 8.8 billion before middle of this century and then decline rapidly. These projected figures are anticipated to become lower provided governments take progressive steps. But declining populations are also causes for concern because of shrinking workforce and rising number of aged senior citizens. Wealthy nations ought to also share their expertise with poor countries for over-all betterment.