Question

The following diagram projects the age structure of the United States for the year 2050. Explain how the diagram would likely change if the fertility rate of 2.1 percent were halved in the year 2020.

Answer 1

Human overpopulation occurs if the number of people in a group exceeds the carrying capacity of a region occupied by that group. Overpopulation can further be viewed, in a long term perspective, as existing when a population cannot be maintained without the rapid depletion of non-renewable resources or without the degradation of the capacity of the environment to give support to the population.[1]

The term human overpopulation often refers to the relationship between the entire human population and its environment: the Earth,[2] or to smaller geographical areas such as countries. Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. It is possible for very sparsely populated areas to be overpopulated if the area has a meager or non-existent capability to sustain life (e.g., a desert). Advocates of population moderation cite issues like quality of life, carrying capacity and risk of starvation as being a basis to argue against continuing high human population growth and for population decline.