Population Dynamics
As of the year 2011, seven billion people now live on Earth. Much has to be done in order to reduce poverty, to provide universal access to health care and family planning, and to decrease our high consumption of resources. This is where DSW steps in with its development programmes and advocacy work.
Many women give birth to more children than they want due to a lack of contraceptives and effective family planning. With the implementation of our Youth-to-Youth Initiative, we are educating thousands of young people in Africa about their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and on how to create a healthy and independent future for themselves.
Furthermore, DSW's comprehensive advocacy work is done by talking to and engaging with national, local and international political authorities. In our dialogue we advocate for the necessity of voluntary family planning and reproductive health.
Population Development
World population reached one billion in 1800. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were already 1.6 billion people living on the earth. By 1927 the number had reached two billion; 33 years later there were three billion. In 1974, four billion people were counted, and in 1987 the figure was five billion. In 1999, there were six billion people living on the earth, and the world's population will reach seven billion in late 2011.
Demographic change
Improved health care in the less developed regions of the world and increased food production after the Second World War—the so-called "Green Revolution"—resulted in a sudden rise in life expectancy and decreased infant mortality. However, in many societies the desire for large families changed only gradually, and access to effective family planning methods was limited. Accordingly, the population grew rapidly.
Causes of population growth
Three factors will be mainly responsible for the future development of the world’s population: unplanned births, a desire for more than two children per couple and the "young" age structure. All of these factors can be influenced. Access to adequate family planning may help couples to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Continued efforts to decrease child and infant mortality and improve women's chances of education and employment may have a major influence on the desire to have children. Targeted sex education and improved access to family planning for young people, the older age of parents at the birth of their first child, for example due to improved educational opportunities for girls, and the higher age of couples when marrying may reduce the effect of age structure.
