Sociologist Susan McDaniel doesn’t necessarily see gloom and doom in a world population of seven billion people, which was reached last November.
The Canada research chair in global population, based at the University of Lethbridge, receives many photos of crowded cities and beaches, but she says they represent distribution and migration issues rather than overcrowding.
“Not all people are problems, so the exact ratio of people to problems is not entirely clear in any realm,” McDaniel told a June 14 meeting of the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs.
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Although the world’s overall population is growing, she said birth rates are declining all over the world, even in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The entire world is aging, in demographic terms,” she said.
McDaniel sees five main challenges linked to population:
- Increasing concentrations of people — Young, mobile people migrate to cities all over the world, creating challenges in housing and also affecting the situations of those they leave behind.
- Consumption by the affluent — McDaniel said Canadians are among the largest consumers of natural resources in the world.
- Inadequate distribution of resources — Food is plentiful in North America, where much is wasted. At the same time, people in many other countries are starving, without access to adequate food.
- Lack of enabling contexts — Many people lack health care, education and other necessities that allow them to live longer and more productive lives.
- Lack of political will to address climate change.
McDaniel said the total number of the world’s population is probably less crucial than its distribution.
As well, there is a demographic bonus for countries when they reach the point where the age of the potential workforce reaches its peak as a percentage of the total.
China is in that bonus situation now, said McDaniel. Canada reached it in 2008.
She said earlier predictions of population overload have failed to materialize, and efforts to control numbers have generally involved an “us versus them” approach that is inherently unfair.
McDaniel was critical of Canada’s declining foreign aid, adding that the country has relinquished its obligations to help others.
