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Objective 5: World Population
Objective 5: World Population
Read through the information below. You may use a highlighter pen to make the most important
information stand out. Add your own notes if you wish.
Graph of the growth of the world’s population, from 1800 until 2020, also showing low and high future estimates. Data from
the United Nations projections in 2019
In modern times, fewer children and infants die, and people are living longer because:
Better medicines & health care stop diseases spreading and extend life
expectancy.
Cleaner water & better sewage disposal stop diseases spreading
Modern agriculture provides more food
The industrialised world and the developing world
People in the industrialised world (eg. USA, Europe, Japan, etc), only count for 25% of
the world’s population, but they use 80% of the world’s resources and drive 90% of the
world’s cars!
The majority of the world's population live very different lives in the developing world
(eg. parts of Africa, some countries in South and Central America, and Asia). Billions live
in poverty or are affected by famine. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as when a
family income is less than $1.90 a day and thinks that nearly 1 billion people live in
extreme poverty. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 22,000
children die every day directly from the effects of poverty.
More people need more energy to sustain their lives. Non-renewable energy resources,
such as coal, gas and oil have been severely depleted.
More people need more water and the world's useable water supplies are now seriously
threatened.
More people leave more wastes and pollution in the environment. This contamination
leads to major global problems, such as climate chnage, acid rain, ozone depletion and
plastics choking the oceans.