ENV203/GEO205

INTRODUCTION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Human Population and Environment

Sirazoom Munira Silvy (SZR)
Lecturer, ESM

North South University (NSU)

Summer 2020
  A Population is a group of individuals of
the same species living in the same area or
interbreeding and sharing genetic
POPULATI information
ON  A Species is all individuals that are capable
of interbreeding. A species is made up of
populations
 1) Population is not distributed
TWO uniformly around the world.

IMPORTAN
Some areas support large
T populations (One out of every
POPULATIO three people in the world is from
either India or China); other areas
N LOGS: are very sparsely populated.
 2) Population patterns and
rates of growth change
over time.
• With respect to growth rates, there are
tremendous disparities around the world.
We live in “two very different demographic
worlds,” one relatively small, old, and
wealthy (with very high consumption rates
per capita) and the other very large, young,
and poor (with relatively low consumption
rates per capita).
Bangladesh Population
• The current population of Bangladesh is 165,012,664 as
of Saturday, September 12, 2020, based on Worldometer
elaboration of the latest United Nations data.
• Bangladesh 2020 population is estimated
at 164,689,383 people at mid year according to UN data.
• Bangladesh population is equivalent to 2.11% of the total
world population
• Bangladesh ranks number 8 in the list of countries (and
dependencies) by population
• The population density in Bangladesh is 1265 per
km2 (3,277 people per mi2).
• The total land area is 130,170 km square (50,259 sq.
miles)
• 39.4 % of the population is urban (64,814,953 people in
2020)
REASONS • High fertility rate
• Illiteracy
FOR • Early marriage
POPULATIO • Invention of medicine
N • Better nutrition
EXPLOSION • Greater access to medical care
• Improved sanitation
• More widespread immunization
MEASURING POPULATION
• Rate of Natural Increase - Percentage by which a population
grows in a year (birth rate minus death rate). Does not take
migration into account. Current rate is about 1.2% for the world.
• Doubling time - Number of years needed to double a population.
Current doubling time is about 54 years for the world (in the 1960s
it was 35 years).
• Recent evidence suggests . . .
• that population growth is slowing down
• that doubling time is increasing
 Doubling time assumes the
population will grow at a
given annual rate.

Doubling time:
T = 70/g (in %)
• World = 54
• U.S.A = 91
• MDC = 550
• LDC = 40
CALCULATE:
The doubling
time for
Example: Bangladesh
Bangladesh if it 70/growth rate = 70/1.19 = 58.82 years
has a growth
rate of 1.19%
Sample question for Midterm 2
If the population of a unit is 500, calculate the growth rate if its double time
is 50 years and calculate the new population once that period is over.
T = use formula
T= ln 2 / (ln1+ln r/100)
G = 1.4% X2 = 69.3/ (0+g%)
• T= 50 years Doubling time:
T = 70/g (in %) (Rule of 69/72)

New population after the doubling time= 1000

Birth and Death Rates
• Birth rate: b = B/N
 B = number of births per unit time
 N = total Population

• Death rate: d = D/N

• Common terms for population growth:
 D= number of deaths per unit time
 N = total Population

• Growth Rate: g = b - d
Terms
• Immigration: the movement of people into a geographical location
• Emigration: the movement of people out of a geographical location
• Migration: the movement of people from one place to another
• Crude birth rate: births/1000 population/year
• Crude death rate: deaths/1000 population/year
• Crude growth rate: net added/1000 population/year
• General fertility rate: no. of live births/1000 women (aged 15 to 49)/year
• Morbidity: general term meaning the occurrence of disease or illness in a population.
• Infant mortality rate: no. of death of infants under age one/1000 live births/year
• Life expectancy: number of years a newborn infant can be expected to live
• Cause-specific mortality rate:
The death rate due to a specific disease. (Number of deaths/disease/100,000 population)
Factors Affecting Birth/Fertility Rates
 Urbanization

 Infant mortality rate

 Availability of pension systems

 Availability of legal abortions

 Availability of reliable birth control methods

 Religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural norms

 Importance of children as part of the labor force

 Average age at marriage

Population Pyramids/Age Structure
Shape of the pyramid varies for different countries
according to age distribution of the population. The
shape of the pyramid explains the followings:
• Sex ratio: Percentage of males and females.
• Age structure: Percentage of each stratum.
• Life span: Height of the pyramid and shape of the
apex.
• Total dependency ratio: A measure showing the
number of dependents (aged 0-14 and over the
age of 65) to the total population (aged 15-64).
Also referred to as the "total dependency ratio".
Overpopulation
• Overpopulation is a function of the number of individuals compared to the
relevant resources, such as the water and essential nutrients they need to
survive.
• It can result from
• an increase in births,
• a decline in mortality rates,
• an increase in immigration, or
• an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources.
 What is the current
population of the world?
POPULATION
EXPLOSION
• World population 7.8 billion people
(September 2020); with an annual
growth rate of approx. 1.2%
• Putting the numbers in perspective:
• Each time your heart beats, 3 more
people are added to the world
• Each time a person dies, 2.8 babies
are born
• Main reason for rapid growth of the
earth’s population over the past 100
years has been due to a rapid drop in
death rates.
 Consequences of Overpopulation
• Inadequate fresh water • Urbanization
• Depletion of natural resources • New epidemics and pandemics of
• Increased levels of pollution (air, water, diseases
soil and noise) • Famine/Starvation/Malnutrition
• Deforestation and loss of ecosystems • Low life expectancy
• Poverty • Shortage of jobs
• Global Warming • Unhygienic living conditions
• Desertification • Elevated crime rate
• Shortage of space/habitat • Conflict /War
• High infant and child mortality • Less personal freedom and more
• Intensive farming/agriculture restrictive laws
• Lack of provision of government
services
Solutions to Overpopulation
• Technology and innovation
• Improved education of women
• Improved access to birth control
• Invest in Family Planning
• Reduce poverty
• Elevate the status of women
• Proper Legislation
• Role-Model a Small Family as the Norm