Relationship of Population on Resources (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

• Economic activities all involve the use of resources and energy
• The rate at which resources & energy are used depends on two main factors:
  • The population size
  • The rate of development
• Many resources including energy sources are finite and non-renewable
• Each country/area has a carrying capacity
• The population that results in the highest standard of living is the optimum population:
  • There are not so many people or so few resources that the standard of living falls
  • There are enough people to develop the resources of the country 
• Underpopulation is when the population is too small to develop the resources effectively
• Over population is when there are too many people or too few resources to ensure a high standard of living
• Population pressure occurs when the population is greater than the carrying capacity

Optimum Theory of Population

• The Earth's population is now over 8 billion
• Whether there are enough resources to sustain the population has been examined by different theorists

• Malthus proposed his theory in 1798
• A pessimistic view on the relationship between population and resources (specifically food) which states:
  • Population growth is increasing at a faster rate than food supply
  • There will be time when there is not enough food to sustain the population
  • As a result, population growth will stop as a result of a Malthusian catastrophe - famine, disease or war
  • These are known as positive checks as they increase the death rate
  • Preventative checks are factors which decrease the birth rate 
  • These limiting factors maintain the balance between population and resources
• Malthus's predictions were incorrect as they came before much of the technological developments which have enabled food supply to be increased
• Neo-Malthusians today base their views on Malthus' theory. They argue that:
  • We have now used most of the available agricultural land 
  • The amount of fertile land is in decline
  • Food prices are increasing
  • The population continues to increase
• They suggest that famines are one example of how Malthusian theory has proved to be correct
• Neo-Malthusians argue that population control is essential to avoid Malthusian catastrophe

Graph illustrating Malthus' theory

• A Danish economist, Ester Boserup put forward her theory in 1965 
• An optimistic view of the relationship between population and resources (specifically food) which states that:
  • Population growth will stimulate developments in technology to increase food production
  • More efficient resources will be discovered/used
  • Renewable resources will replace non-renewable

Graph illustrating Boserup's theory