Effects of overpopulation

Food Shortage

The more people there are, the greater amount of food is needed. If there is not enough food to feed people in a specific place, then there is food shortage in that place.

When people do not get enough food, their health is affected. People become undernourished when they do not have enough food to eat. Undernourished children are more likely to get sick.

Water Shortage

When population increases, the demand for water also increases. Farmers need more water to irrigate their fields so that they can produce more crops. Factories need more water to use in manufacturing more goods. More households need more water for drinking, cooking, washing clothes, personal hygiene and many other activities.

Water shortage is evident when people have to walk a long way to get water, or when they have to queue up to get it.

Many people do not have access to potable water. They get their water from springs, rivers, wells and rain.

The quality of water that people get may be poor.

Water shortage in a community can bring about problems related to sanitation and health.

Limited Space

The population of a place increases in just a short time. However, the space in a place remains the same.

When the houses in a neighborhood are overcrowded, it shows that the population in the area is too big. This is a common sight in a city.

Many poor people build shanties along creeks, in dumpsites or along railroads. More than one family may share a shanty.

Overpopulation in a community can limit space for housing.

Health Problems

Food shortage, overcrowding, poor water supply and environmental pollution affect the health of the people, particularly the children.

Poor environmental sanitation is a major cause of diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid and cholera. Dirty insects such as flies and cockroaches contaminate food with disease-causing germs.

Many children who play barefoot in dirty areas and do not wash their hands before eating become infected with worms.

Some respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and bronchitis are worsened by polluted air.

Communicable diseases can easily be transferred from one person to another in an overpopulated area.

Environmental Degradation

More people generate more waste. Solid wastes such as plastics, tin cans and bottles, when not properly disposed of, become eyesores in a place. Garbage and sewage, if left untreated, can pollute the water supply.

More people need more things to use so more factories are built, more transportation facilities are made and more products are manufactured. This means more fuels are burned. The more fuels are burned, the more polluted the air becomes.