Maria João Valente Rosa, a sociologist and specialist in demography, considers that if the increase in the world population is a sign of the decrease in infant mortality and “a very important success in life expectancy” and in the advancement of health, on the other hand, is creating great imbalances between various regions of the planet. Because it is in the poorest regions of the planet where demographic growth is expected in the coming years.
“Africa, which in 1950 represented half of the population of Europe, today, according to the United Nations, has more than double the European population,” he clarifies. “In many of these countries, birth rates are very high,” she adds.
The researcher from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (FCSH) of the New University of Lisbon (UNL) gives the example of Nigeria, where the average points to 5.2 children per woman, that is, “well above the average worldwide and clearly above the European average”. She notes that researchers are always talking about scenarios for the next few years, “but the trends are here.”
Many of these population imbalances, in the opinion of Maria João Rosa, can be mitigated with the migration of peoples to continents where the population is getting smaller and aging. “It is expected that in 2050 Europe will represent 7% of the world population, when in 1950 it had 22%”, she says. An enormous decrease verified in the last 100 years and therefore “the European population depends on migrations to have a certain demographic dynamism”.
He admits that “this could contain other problems, but we’ll think about them later and answer them.” The sociologist adds that there must also be “an effort from all of us, from the world as a whole, to develop these regions.” He gives as an example sectors such as education, gender equality, better access to health systems and family planning, “areas in which work must be done so that the poorest population does not increase so much.”
The world population will continue to increase, says the Portuguese Association of Demography
“It is estimated that the growth of the world population will continue until the second or third decade of the 22nd century”, guarantees the president of the Association. Paulo Machado adds that, despite this, in global terms, “we are growing at a slower pace than 50 years ago.”
“We started to slow down that growth, so it’s possible to slow down that demographic train and keep that stabilizing at 11 billion people.”
According to the president of the APD, “the problem lies in the consequence of this growth” that is currently taking place. “This growth is equal to urban concentration and so yes, it is in this unregulated concentration that the quality of life of the population is taken away and their dignity is threatened.” On the other hand, in other countries, such as Portugal, “real problems are felt, such as the shortage of young people and labor.”
Source: TSF
