In the 21st century, people are increasingly talking about a demographic explosion. This phenomenon has been studied for many years, and scientists have been able to identify its main causes.

What is a population explosion

This definition refers to a sharp increase in population. The birth rate begins to exceed the death rate. This has happened several times throughout human history:

• This first happened during the Pleistocene period. Then man managed to learn how to hunt and get more meat. People began to consume more protein. The hunters settled in different territories, they had a large offspring that they could feed.
• The second time the population explosion occurred about ten thousand years ago, when people began to engage in agriculture. Growing various vegetable and cereal crops had a beneficial effect on lifestyle and nutrition, which led to an increase in offspring.
• The third time this happened during the technological revolution, when, thanks to special machines, it was possible to cultivate more land. As a result, the quality of life improved, and this led to an increase in the birth rate.

Throughout the history of the planet, the population explosion has occurred three times

Causes

The population explosion occurs for the following reasons:

• Poverty. The greatest population growth occurs in countries where high percent poverty. People do not receive an education, do not try to get a good job, but start families early and have many children. In countries with a high standard of living, young people first strive to get an education and find a decent job, and only then start a family.
• Medicine. New discoveries in the field of medicine, the emergence of vaccines and medicines were able to prevent the death of many people and prolong life. It is possible to save even those newborns who are on the verge of death. Medicine has stepped forward, which has led to an increase in life expectancy and an increase in the birth rate.
• Food. Scientists believe that increasing the amount of food leads to population growth. Over the past decades, people have learned to get more food, which leads to improved health and the birth rate of the new generation.

It seems strange, but in poor countries people have more children

Consequences

Experts identify several consequences of the population explosion:

• Growth of industrial production.
• Urbanization.
• Food shortage.
• The natural environment is losing its diversity: forests and swamps are being destroyed. Not only certain classes of plants are disappearing, but also animals.
• Energy shortage.
• Lack of jobs.
• The waste is not mineralized, which disrupts the cycle of substances.

Global population growth leads to environmental problems

The demographic explosion has not only positive but also negative consequences. Scientists around the world are trying to solve the problem of resources so that there is enough for all the inhabitants of the planet. The quality of life of people has generally improved, but the problem of resources has not yet been fully resolved.

A demographic explosion is a process when a particular territory experiences a very high rate of population growth. The problem of overpopulation of the Earth has been discussed for many centuries, but effective solutions have not yet been invented. Biologists believe that in their behavior regarding reproduction, a person acts in the same way as the rest of the inhabitants of the planet, about whom it is known that under favorable conditions they increase their numbers exponentially. These processes stop when further expansion of numbers is impossible or unprofitable for the species.

The settlement of the Earth proceeded at an uneven pace

The population explosion in the world has happened globally more than once. For example, the first one arose during the Pleistocene period, when people learned to hunt large animals and obtain sufficient amounts of protein. This entailed the spread of hunters over large territories and the appearance of more offspring for them to feed. The second time the world's population increased sharply was about ten thousand years ago, when humanity began to engage in agriculture. The third period is associated with the onset of a technological revolution, which has made it possible in the last century to increase harvests by seven times and the area of ​​cultivated agricultural land by two to three times compared to previous periods.

Five billion in a hundred years

The above transformations allowed the planet's population to increase from 10 million people. approximately in the 7th-8th millennium BC to 200 million by the beginning of the era, to half a billion by the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (circa 1650s), to two billion by the beginning of the twentieth century and more than seven billion by the present time. This is a demographic explosion on a planetary scale, since it took humanity a quarter of a millennium (1650-1900) to grow by one and a half billion, and only a hundred years to grow by five billion.

Humanity grows due to non-renewable resources

The main reasons for the population explosion, as follows from the above data, are associated with an increase in the amount of food. However, it has become difficult to maintain high rates of increase in food production. In this regard, today about 0.5 billion people on the planet have an abundance of nutrients, while two billion are hungry or poorly nourished. Statistics have shown that about 20 million people die from hunger every year on Earth. And such a picture can arise everywhere when the non-renewable reserves of oil, coal, gas, and mineral resources accumulated by the biosphere over billions of years run out.

Then nature, as a self-regulating system, will return the human population to life only through renewable sources (for example, solar energy), which can provide the existence of only half a billion people. This is due to the fact that full use of solar energy makes it possible to use only about one percent of the biosphere. A person now has energy consumption ten times greater.

The main ways to resolve the demographic collapse

The problem with the population explosion is that it often causes a demographic collapse, effective ways to resolve which have not yet been developed. Although there are four possible solutions to the problem of “excess population”. The first, which is partly being realized today, is that the problem of hunger is not being solved at all. It is assumed that if mortality from hunger increases by an order of magnitude, then population growth will stop altogether (if 0.2 billion people die per year).

Statistics from the World Food Organization showed that at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the global agricultural industry produced 17% more calories per person than in 1970. This made it possible to provide every inhabitant of the Earth with food in abundance or even some excess. The problem with a demographic explosion on a planetary scale is that rich states and international structures are transferring less and less aid to poor countries. Thus, in the 80s of the twentieth century, about 9 billion dollars were transferred for such purposes, while in 2005 - about 4.6 billion dollars. That is, from where they overeat, there is no redistribution in favor of the hungry.

Almost all people can be destroyed extremely quickly

The second way is the way of reducing the number of non-biological plans, when one of the nuclear powers tries to seize non-renewable energy sources from another nuclear power and receives a retaliatory strike. In this case, the population explosion of the last century can be reduced to nothing in a few hours to an arbitrarily small number of people. The leaders of countries with nuclear potential understand the harmful consequences of this option, so they try to replace direct war with organizing unrest and civil wars on foreign territories, etc., often for the subsequent seizure of resources through the use of non-nuclear military potential.

The demographic explosion, the concept of which was given above, can also be leveled out using political methods - introducing a ban on increased birth rates. But from a biological point of view, it is considered ineffective, since it causes negative reactions and protests from people.

Natural mechanisms of population regulation

Demographers and biologists point to another way of population regulation, which is implemented by nature itself. It lies in the fact that as a population grows and actively consumes certain resources, the habitat deteriorates. In an increased mass of individuals that live more crowded, diseases spread faster. And such mechanisms act on humans on a smaller scale. For example, the plague in Europe in the 14th century reduced the population by half in two years. Biologists also note that population decline is significantly influenced by urbanization, since a person, finding himself in a crowded living environment, changes his priorities and does not want to give birth to large offspring.

City life reduces birth rates

It has been established that highly fertile village youth in the second generation in the city lose this property, giving a population increase of 0.7 daughters per mother. Therefore, a population explosion is typical for countries with a predominantly rural population and a traditional way of life, often without contraception and the practice of abortion. Here, numerous offspring are needed in order to cultivate the amount of land sufficient to feed the family. For example, in Ethiopia, which has a birth rate of about 6 children per woman (and a high death rate from famine), about 16 percent of people live in cities.

Megacities are “black holes” where population growth “disappears”

In China, with the birth rate limited to 2 children per woman, only about 40% are city dwellers. In Russia, with a birth rate of just over one child per woman in rural areas About a quarter of the population lives. Fertility rates are even lower in Japan, where more than 80 percent of Japanese live in cities. Therefore, we can say that such reasons for the demographic explosion as an improvement in the quality of life and a more nutritious diet in large cities are offset by the cramped “habitats”, lack of living space, frantic pace of life, quasi-communication and meaningless pastime, bad habits and poor ecology, which do not contribute to further population growth. This can be seen in the example of Asia, where the actively growing population is quickly “absorbed” by large cities.

Fashion for four children in post-Depression America

The reasons for a local population explosion may be associated with specific historical events in a particular country. For example, in the United States there was an increase in the birth rate from the 30s to the 50s of the twentieth century. This was due to the fact that marriages and childbearing were realized, which were postponed due to the Great Depression, marked by unemployment and hunger, as well as the good economic situation of the United States during the Second World War, when this state made many deliveries of weapons to other countries, without having military operations on its own territory. During those years, American families with four children became the norm, as in the late nineteenth century. Another surge in “maternity” activity was recorded after the events of September 11, 2001, when the American nation responded in this way to the threat allegedly posed by terrorist states.

By 1979, military losses of the population in the USSR were restored

A demographic explosion in Russia was observed in the period after the Great Patriotic War, when postponed marriages and childbirths were realized, and there was also a powerful compensation for the population killed in battles. The average growth rate between 1950 and 1963 was 3.3 million people annually, giving a total population growth between 1959 and 1979 (census data) of 53 million (26 percent). It is worth noting that as of 1959, the rural population was almost equal in size to the urban population, while by 1979 about 188 million people lived in cities, and only 98 million in villages.

There has been no growth for more than twenty years

Since 1991, the Russian population did not show natural growth until almost the tenth years of the 21st century due to the collapse Soviet Union and difficult economic situation. The increase, which, of course, does not resemble a demographic explosion, was observed only after 2013, when in Russia over the year the total increase in the number of people was about 100 thousand people per year. It has been noted that a certain small part of the population, who are not satisfied with life in a metropolis, lower their level of comfort by moving to the countryside to live in better environmental conditions and at a measured pace (“downshifting”). In general, a massive demographic explosion is desirable for our country. And its consequences will not need to be eliminated for a long time, since the territory of Russia is vast and rich in natural resources. A small population with insufficient development of technical military means may not be able in the future to protect what less rich, but more aggressive neighbors on the planet can lay claim to.

POPULATION EXPLOSION

DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION - a sharp acceleration of population growth due to the establishment of an intermediate type of population reproduction. There are three main types of population reproduction: archetype, traditional (intensive) type and modern (extensive) type. The archetype belongs to the early period of human history, to pre-class society, its existence is a hypothesis. The traditional type dominates in pre-capitalist class agrarian societies and in the early stages of capitalism; the modern type arose first in countries of developed capitalism and is gradually spreading to almost all countries of the world. For the archetype and traditional type, the population growth rate is determined mainly by the mortality rate, which is quite high; the birth rate is also high and compensates high level mortality. For the modern type of population reproduction and transitional modes of demographic development, the population growth rate is determined by the birth rate, while the mortality rate is relatively low. The transition from one type of population reproduction to another does not occur instantly, but over a period of time, when the so-called intermediate type of population reproduction is established, combining the features of the outgoing and incoming types. During the transition from traditional to modern types of population reproduction, as a rule, the decrease in mortality significantly outpaces the decrease in fertility, which leads to an accelerated increase in population - D.V. It should be noted that in rare cases, a change from a traditional type to a modern one occurs without D.V. (France, 19th century), but this is an exception to the rule. D.V. There are two types: small D.V. and big D.W. Maly D.V. It is of regional importance and does not have a major impact on the world population. This pattern of demographic transition was typical for most European countries. With a large D.V. There is a huge excess of the number of births over the number of deaths, and therefore the rate of population growth increases sharply. Big D.V. characteristic of most developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and its beginning dates back to the 1950s. Currently D.V. in these countries it has become global, and according to experts, it now covers about 80% of the world's population. D.V. - a temporary phenomenon. As the demographic transition develops, the disrupted consistency between the types of fertility and mortality is restored, the intermediate type of population reproduction is replaced by the main one, and D.V. stops. However, according to the most optimistic forecasts of demographers, D.V. will stop on Earth no earlier than the middle of the 21st century. Currently, the world's population continues to grow rapidly, its number has already reached approximately 5.7 billion people, and by the year 2000 it is predicted to exceed 6 billion people. Over the course of one hour, the number of earthlings increases by 10,000 people, of which industrially developed countries Less than 800 children appear per hour. At the same time, the rapid population growth in developing countries is outpacing the economic and social development of these countries, and significantly, which aggravates the problem of providing the rapidly growing population with food, water, raw materials and energy resources, maintaining the required level of education, creating a sufficient number of jobs, etc. All this turns the problem of D.V. not only one of the global population problems, but also a global problem of our time. The consequences of the global D.V. are the growing gap in the living standards of the population of developed and developing countries, the deterioration in the quality of life of the population of the countries covered by D.V., uncontrolled urbanization in these countries, rising unemployment, etc. These phenomena are called “paradoxes of backwardness” and, of course, contain a potential danger for the development of the world demographic situation. In assessing the consequences of D.V., two opposing assessments mainly predominate: negative and positive. Proponents of the first point of view, for example, P. Ehrlich (USA), call population growth a “great evil”, giving the most gloomy forecasts. Representatives of another, opposite camp, for example, D. Simon (USA), believe that the larger the population, the more talented people, the more more possibilities to solve all the problems that arise due to population growth. At the same time, it is even noted that all the most significant scientific discoveries in the history of mankind occur at the peaks of growth in its population. To cope with the current situation, the world community is making quite a lot of attempts to regulate population growth in developing countries: from the development of national birth control programs (China, India and other countries) to the implementation international projects in this area (World Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 1994). However, the problem of world D.V. it is not easy to solve; its solution requires the efforts of many specialists and government officials, changing the psychology of people in the field of population reproduction, and implementing effective demographic and social policies.

The latest philosophical dictionary. - Minsk: Book House. A. A. Gritsanov. 1999.

See what "DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION" is in other dictionaries:

POPULATION EXPLOSION- DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION, a figurative designation for the rapid growth of the world population, which began in the 1950s. From journalistic literary term D. v. passed into modern scientific research, including works examining the concept of demographic... ... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

- “DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION”, a sharp acceleration in population growth rates. In developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the 50s and 60s. 20th century caused by a decrease in mortality (see MORTALITY), especially among children, while maintaining a high birth rate... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Modern encyclopedia

Sharp acceleration of population growth rates. In developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the 50s and 60s. 20th century due to a decrease in mortality, especially among children, while maintaining a high birth rate. The population explosion has exacerbated the problems... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

POPULATION EXPLOSION- (D.v.) a sharp increase in the rate of population growth. D.v. associated with socio-economic conditions: increase in food resources, energy, improvement medical care etc. Currently D.v. takes place in developing countries... Ecological dictionary

Sharp acceleration of population growth rates. In developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the 50s and 60s. 20th century due to a decrease in mortality, especially among children, while maintaining a high birth rate. The “population explosion” has exacerbated the problems... Political science. Dictionary.

Population explosion- DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION, a sharp acceleration in world population growth (in 1900 50 by an average of 0.9% per year, in 1950 2000 by 2.1% per year) mainly due to the growth of the population of developing countries (over 70% of world population). In these... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (from the Greek demos people and grapho I write) English. demographic explo sion; German demographische Explosion. A sharp acceleration in population growth rates against the background of a decrease in mortality while maintaining a high birth rate. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

"POPULATION EXPLOSION"- periodic sharp increase in population associated with the improvement of socio-economic or general environmental factors (settlement of a new territory, etc.). Characteristic of the current stage of the demographic revolution of mankind.... ... Ecological dictionary

By the beginning of the 19th century, the world population approached the billion mark. Then it took two centuries to double the previous number. The next doubling occurred after 120 years; The two-billion mark was crossed in the 20s of our century. It has already taken 50 years for the planet's population to double again, because in the 70s it exceeded the four billion mark. This continuously accelerating rate of population growth, observed since the second half of the twentieth century, is called the “demographic explosion.”

However, this phenomenon is not new in the history of mankind. The demographic explosion is caused by a demographic revolution, which means a radical change in the sphere of population reproduction. As a result of such changes, a time gap arises between birth rates and deaths. The population explosion is the result of the incompleteness of the demographic revolution.

What causes the demographic revolution? The main reason is the sharp decline in mortality. Causes of mortality are usually divided into two types: exogenous and endogenous. The first type of causes of mortality includes external circumstances in relation to a person, such as an accident, war, unsanitary conditions, hunger, etc. Endogenous (internal) causes associated with natural aging and negative environmental influences.

A sharp decrease in mortality occurs due to a decrease in exogenous mortality. A demographic revolution occurs due to a sudden decrease in exogenous mortality. However, in order for the demographic revolution to lead to a population explosion, it is necessary to simultaneously maintain the procreation behavior of the population (i.e., behavior associated with the birth of children; from the Latin word procreatio - birth, bringing into being).

Using the example of Europe, we can show two types of demographic revolutions - French and English. At the beginning of the 19th century, these countries experienced a sharp decline in mortality. However, in France, along with mortality, the birth rate also decreased, and in England, the procreation behavior of the population did not change. This led to the fact that during the 19th century the population of England grew by 3.4 times, i.e. England experienced a population explosion, while for France this process passed unnoticed.

The modern demographic explosion is distinguished by the fact that there has been a sharp, unprecedented in the history of mankind, reduction in mortality among a significant part of the world's population. In other words, a global demographic revolution occurred while maintaining the same procreative behavior. We are facing a global demographic explosion, the power of which exceeds all previous ones that were local in nature.

As follows from the essence of the demographic explosion, this phenomenon is temporary, which means that sooner or later it must stop. But how soon will this happen, and what needs to be done to stop it as quickly as possible?

The historical experience of Europe and those countries where demographic revolutions have already occurred and the population has stabilized indicates that the world population must ultimately become stationary.

The population explosion will stop as soon as the gap in birth and death rates disappears. The causes of mortality - exogenous and endogenous - have already been discussed by us. But no matter how difficult it is to predict mortality, the reasons that cause changes in fertility are less studied, which in turn makes it difficult to forecast fertility.

The birth rate is usually determined by the number of girls born, using gross and net coefficients. The gross coefficient (r) is the number of girls born to each woman on average. To determine it, take the average number of children (n) per woman of childbearing age and multiply it by 0.485. Thus, the gross coefficient is determined by the formula r = 0.485 n. However, not all girls(r) will live to reach the average age at which women in a given country begin to give birth. The percentage of those who survive to this age is determined by the coefficient l. The product of r and l, i.e. the average number of girls born to one woman and who replace them is called the net population reproduction rate - r*.

Thus, when r*= 1 - the population does not change;

• · Now in Europe and Japan - r*~ 1.08;
• · North Africa - r*~ 2.29;
• · Central America - r*~ 2.71.

When forecasting population size, it is necessary to remember the so-called demographic growth potential. Suppose that in developing countries in the early 70s the net coefficient became equal to one. We know that when r* = 1 the population does not change. Therefore, the population of these countries can be expected to remain unchanged. However, as calculations show, by 2050 their numbers would increase by more than 60%. This change in population size is due to its age structure. The potential for demographic growth can be both positive and negative. In developing countries, due to high birth rates, there is a very “young” age structure and therefore the population growth potential is positive and very high.

According to UN calculations, the world population in 2075 according to the “middle” option will be 12.2 billion people, according to the “lower” - 9.5 and 15.8 - according to the “highest”. demographic russia population

The share of the population of more developed regions will decrease by almost 2.3 times. South Asia will remain the most populated region of the world. But Africa will come in second place, significantly displacing East Asia, which has the most populous country modern world- China.

Another equally important problem associated with stopping the demographic explosion is the aging of the population. The fact is that throughout the history of mankind up to the present, the birth rate has always been quite high, and therefore the age composition of the population has always been “young”. However, by the end of this century, the proportion of older people in Europe will exceed 13%. And although the same figure for developing countries will hardly reach 5%, nevertheless, the process of population aging is inevitable for them too.

Aging slows the flow of labor and simultaneously increases the burden on the social security system. According to the French demographer J. Bougois-Pich, average life expectancy (with the complete elimination of exogenous mortality) can reach 77-78 years. UN demographers consider the age of 74.8 years as the limit for the foreseeable future.

In this article we will explain what a population explosion is and what causes it. A demographic explosion is a sharp increase in the number of inhabitants. It consists in the excess of the birth rate over the death rate. This definition appeared in the second half of the 20th century, since the problem of the demographic explosion became acute during this period.

Until the end of the 17th century, there were no changes in the demographic situation on the planet. This period is characterized by the fact that the vast majority of people lived in rural areas. People then did not use contraception, and some nations practiced polygamy. Even despite the high birth rate and a large number of large families, population growth was not typical for such a society, which was to blame for the high child and adult mortality rates. Often children never had time to become adults, and adults died en masse from terrible epidemics, famine, as well as numerous and brutal military conflicts.

In the Middle Ages, death wiped out entire cities. Wars practically never stopped, and many diseases were considered incurable. The plague epidemic that broke out in the 14th century killed half of the population of Europe. Germany, France and other countries were hit hard.

Plague in Europe in the 14th century

Then life was harsher, and medicine was at a low level of development. The reason for the population explosion was that over time, people learned to fight most diseases and the average life expectancy increased. With the same birth rate or its slight decrease, significant population growth began. In the 20th century, it rapidly increased and became a phenomenon that caused a population explosion.

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Causes and consequences of population growth

Now that the world's population has exceeded 7 billion people, it is difficult to imagine what it was like 3 thousand years ago. But in 1000 BC it was only 50 million. After about 2.5 thousand years, the number of people on the planet increased tenfold and reached 500 million.

The demographic explosion is especially characteristic of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

African countries have the highest birth rates: in Niger, one woman gives birth to 8(!) children on average

Since then, the rate of population growth has only increased. In the 20th century, acceleration reached unprecedented proportions. For example, from 1987 to 1999, the world's population grew from 5 to 6 billion, that is, by 1 billion in 12 years.

The demographic explosion is typical primarily for developing countries with low economic levels. The majority of newborns appeared there. 60% of the new inhabitants of our planet were born in Asian countries.

It is believed that the population explosion has now ended. Population growth continues, but its rate has slowed significantly. Oddly enough, this was mainly due to rising prosperity. Young people receive higher education, establish a career, and only then start families. At the same time, they are in no hurry to have children.

Another negative factor was the popularization of same-sex sexual relations, even to the point of marriage. And the birth of children in such marriages is impossible. The growth of alcoholism and drug addiction, as well as the poor environmental situation, also do not contribute to the increase in the birth rate.

But all this is compensated by low mortality. Indeed, thanks to comfortable living conditions and medical advances, life expectancy has increased, and mortality from diseases in all age categories has decreased.

A noticeable decrease in the birth rate with low mortality is called the demographic transition from a traditional society, characterized by high birth rates and significant mortality, to a modern one. IN modern society There are other features of reproduction, when a change of generations occurs without a noticeable increase in population.

Demographic features of different regions of the planet

The demographic picture of the world is very diverse and diverse. Dynamics of population changes in different countries is radically different. Along with rapid population growth, at one end of the planet there are countries with low population growth.

The danger lies in the consequences of a population explosion in developing countries, accompanied by a low level of economic development. This phenomenon leads to a drop in living standards, unemployment and poverty. A minority of the world's 1 billion people live in prosperous countries and have excess material goods. This “golden billion” includes citizens of the USA and Canada, as well as residents Western Europe and Japan.

To avoid global problems, they have to help their poor neighbors on the planet. Large and rich countries, in the struggle for resources and spheres of influence, have intentionally or unwittingly caused many local conflicts in less successful and influential countries.

The demographic explosion and its consequences also affected developed countries. This was fully felt by the residents of Western Europe, where millions of migrants from Africa and the Middle East poured in en masse. They are fleeing war, poverty or persecution, and many are simply in search of a better life. Europeans are unable to stop this flow. This situation suggests that local problems can quickly and easily develop into global ones.

Migrants from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Palestine, as well as from North African countries go to Europe for a better life

It is impossible to say which country is characterized by a population explosion and which is not. At different periods in history, countries have experienced population growth or decline. It all depends on the conditions prevailing in the this moment. The reasons for the population explosion can be different. Many countries have seen a surge in birth rates after difficult, and sometimes tragic, periods in history.

To understand the reasons for the sudden changes in the demographic situation, let us give examples from the history of some countries.

Causes and consequences of the population explosion in the USA

In the United States, between the 30s and 40s of the last century, not only an economic but also a demographic boom was observed, unprecedented in the history of the country. Four or more children in ordinary American families has become the norm. Earlier, during the Great Depression, when businesses closed and unemployment and crime rose to unprecedented levels, many were in no hurry to start families and have children, because they were not sure of the future.

When unemployment and the crisis were overcome, there was some stability in the lives of Americans. For other world powers Second World War brought grief, destruction and death to millions of people. IN economic development she threw them far back. These tragic events did not have a negative impact on the United States. Military operations did not affect American territory, and the losses are incomparable, for example, with the irreparable human losses of the USSR or Germany. America did not face the same problems that Europe had in abundance.

Military production for the needs of the US Army and its allies brought huge profits and provided well-paying jobs for millions of Americans. Many businessmen made fortunes from military supplies. This contributed to the well-being of Americans, made the United States the most powerful world power, and also had a positive impact on the demographic situation in the country.

We can say that in this country the population explosion is characteristic primarily of periods of calm and prosperity. But some events may affect demographic situation in an unpredictable way. You are unlikely to explain why there was a surge in the birth rate in the United States after the largest terrorist attack in history, September 11, 2001. This seems completely illogical.

The growth in the number of Americans has not slowed down and continues to this day. To some extent, it is due to the excess of birth rates over deaths, and partly due to the influx of foreign migrants.

Population explosion in Russia

Thanks to World War II, the United States became the first economy on the planet, and in Russia the opposite situation is observed. After the war, the European part of the Soviet Union lay in ruins and required restoration. The country has lost tens of millions of people, most of whom are healthy men of military age. They could very well start families and have children.

Post-war Moscow. Construction of house No. 11 on Gorky Street

Returning from the war, former soldiers began restoring industry and Agriculture, built residential buildings. Many of them, who went to the front immediately after school, started families and children. The restoration of peaceful life also contributed to an increase in the birth rate, especially in rural areas, where large families with many children were not uncommon.

The country needed a demographic explosion more than ever. Even with stable positive dynamics of population growth, it was possible to reach pre-war numbers only by 1979.

Growth stopped after the collapse of the USSR. This period of stagnation lasted for more than 20 years. Many explain this by the difficult economic situation, declining incomes and lack of confidence in the future.

A few years ago, Russia began to experience a slight population increase. To some extent, this is explained by protectionist government measures that contribute to population growth.

Maternal (family) capital is a measure of state support for Russian families in which a second child was born (adopted) from 2007 to 2018 (inclusive)

Experts say that Russia should not fear that the consequences of the population explosion will be negative. Even if for some reason it happens, the vast territory and rich resources are insurance against overpopulation.

In Russia, a demographic explosion would be desirable, because despite its thousand-year history, the country still has underdeveloped territories. Much big problem could represent a decline in population. This problem exists in a number of regions. One of the ways to solve this is to provide benefits for those wishing to move to such disadvantaged regions from other parts of the country and from abroad.

Demographic crisis and demographic policy

When studying demography, you should also know the concepts of demographic crisis and demographic policy.

For different countries, the concept of a demographic crisis can have diametrically opposed meanings. If Nigeria is concerned about high population growth amid shortages of food and other resources, then Western European countries are more likely to face the problem of population decline and aging nations due to decreased fertility coupled with increased life expectancy.

Depending on the problems that caused the demographic crisis, there are different ways to solve these issues. The state's demographic policy indirectly affects the dynamics of changes in population growth.

For example, in China the slogan “One family, one child” has become popular, aimed at combating the demographic explosion. The state regulated the birth rate by taxing additional taxes large families and encouraging those who were limited to one child.

Another example is Nazi Germany, where large families and the birth of children out of wedlock were encouraged. After all, the Reich constantly needed fresh “cannon fodder” to capture other countries, as well as colonists to populate the occupied territories.

Regardless of the differences in demographic policies in different countries, the situation is necessarily controlled at the state level. Activities are being carried out around the world to increase or decrease the population.