Causes of Overpopulation:

Introduction:
1. Overpopulation occurs when the number of people in a
region is too great to be supported by the available natural
resources.
2. Two regions that I have studied that
overpopulation are the Sudan and Ethiopia.

experience

High Birth Rates in the Sudan:

1. Overpopulation has occurred in the Sudan because of the
regions high birth rates.
2. The birth rate in the Sudan is 33 per 1,000, in contrast to its
death rate, which is at 10.28 per thousand.
3. This has resulted in the Sudan having a large natural increase
in population and is now in Stage 2 of the population
cycle/demographic transition.
4. The low status of Sudanese women has contributed to these
high birth rates as they have very limited access to education
and literacy levels are low.
5. This, combined with the nations poor health services, has led
to high fertility rates of more than 5 children per woman.
6. The Sudanese government has not been able to provide
enough
housing,
education/healthcare
services
or
employment opportunities for its rapidly growing population.
7. The pace of the population growth is putting a strain on the
existing resources such as water, soil, fuels and farmland,
resulting in overpopulation.
8. Vast areas of farmland have been overgrazed and
overcropped to feed the ever-growing population, resulting in
food shortages and reducing the life expectancy of the
Sudanese people to 53 years.

Depletion of Resources in the Central Asia:

1. Overpopulation has occurred in Central Asia due to the
depletion of the regions main natural resource, the Aral Sea.
2. The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world,
however, the lake has been shrinking steadily since the 1960s
when the then Communist government decided to divert
water from the rivers feeding it.
3. The water level of the Aral Sea has since dropped 23 metres,
with the many previously thriving fishing towns now being
over 40km away from the sea.
4. The Aral Sea is now less than 10% of its original size and the
coastal communities it once supported have become
overpopulated as the resource that once provided water, food
and employment has been depleted.
5. The depletion of the water resource has reduced the carrying
capacity of the land; the carrying capacity being the
maximum number of people that the natural resources of the
area can sustain indefinitely.
6. The town of Muynak was once home to a thriving harbour
and fishing industry that employed over 30,000 people,
however, today it is a desert town with few jobs and lies over
100km from the shore.
7. The level of poverty in some areas of the Aral Sea basin is as
high as 83% and this, coupled with the subsequent high birth
rates, has led to overpopulation in the region.