Population-Resource Relationship:
Under Population, Optimum Population and Over Population
Mithun Ray
Department of Geography
Malda College (University of Gour Banga)
E-mail: mithun.ray147@gmail.com
 Collection of people at a time of a place considered as
population
 Resource means somethings that has utility to human beings
 Population and resources have a strong relationship
with one another
 The growth and decline of population affects the
availability of resources. At the same time the
availability of resources affects the trends seen in
population.
Present human species had common ancestor but it is varied
initial physical environment coupled with some sort of luck
gave some human group higher pace of development than
others.
 These differences further multiplied with the passage of time
to make different human groups differently able in
understanding and utilization of their environment.
These different abilities with different human group to
understand and exploit their environment have necessitated
the need to compare human numbers with respect to local
physical environment which owes to satisfy their needs now
and also for the generations to come.
Concept of Optimum Population
Population which produces maximum economic
welfare
-- Car-Saunders
 The ideal number of population that a country should have
considering its resources.
 The optimum size of population is which along with the
existing natural resources and a given state of technology,
yields the highest income per capita in a country.
---Prof. Dalton
If M is zero, population is optimum, when M is positive, it is over
population, when M is negative, it is under population. Therefore,
optimum population is not fixed and a rigid one. It is rather variable
and relative to resources and technology. Optimum population is not
just an economic concept but qualitative in nature. Prof. Cannan has
correctly remarked, “It is being perpetually altered by the progress of
knowledge and other changes affecting the economic system. It is,
thus, a dynamic concept. It may be higher or lower as different
Concept of Under Population
Under population exists when a population is too small,
therefore unable to fully utilise the available resource
endowments. Under population is also characterised by a
situation where the available resources are capable of supporting
a much larger population with no reduction in living standards.
The situation is found in regions of low technical development
such as equatorial Congo, Amazon River basin or the rich Prairie
region of North America.
Relative under population is more common than absolute under
population. Indeed, absolute under population is rarely seen and
may be found in completely secluded societies where, the degree of
replacement of population is less than unity. Relative under
population occurs due to insufficient resource development. In
developed economies, rural under population is more visible,
whereas in backward countries, under population is linked to high
mortality rate.
Concept of Over Population
The term ‘overpopulation’ means too great a population for a
given region to support. There may be two causes: (i) population
growth exceeds the existing resource base; (ii) existing resources
have been depleted.
The situation of overpopulation displays the following socio-
economic characteristics: high unemployment, low incomes, low
standards of living, high population density, malnutrition and
famine.
Some authors distinguish absolute overpopulation
(where the absolute limit of production has been attained
but standards of living remain low) from relative
overpopulation (where present production does not
population but the production can be augmented).
https://www.i-study.co.uk/subscription/igcse-zone/igcse-geography/1-1-population-dynamics/
This Power Point Presentation (PPT) has been
prepared only to deliver the lecture. The materials
(Maps, Diagrams and Images) used in this
presentation have been collected and compiled
by the presenter from various academic blogs,
research papers, books etc.
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Population Resource relationship

  • 1.
    Population-Resource Relationship: Under Population,Optimum Population and Over Population Mithun Ray Department of Geography Malda College (University of Gour Banga) E-mail: [email protected]
  • 2.
     Collection ofpeople at a time of a place considered as population  Resource means somethings that has utility to human beings
  • 3.
     Population andresources have a strong relationship with one another  The growth and decline of population affects the availability of resources. At the same time the availability of resources affects the trends seen in population.
  • 4.
    Present human specieshad common ancestor but it is varied initial physical environment coupled with some sort of luck gave some human group higher pace of development than others.  These differences further multiplied with the passage of time to make different human groups differently able in understanding and utilization of their environment. These different abilities with different human group to understand and exploit their environment have necessitated the need to compare human numbers with respect to local physical environment which owes to satisfy their needs now and also for the generations to come.
  • 5.
    Concept of OptimumPopulation Population which produces maximum economic welfare -- Car-Saunders  The ideal number of population that a country should have considering its resources.  The optimum size of population is which along with the existing natural resources and a given state of technology, yields the highest income per capita in a country.
  • 7.
    ---Prof. Dalton If Mis zero, population is optimum, when M is positive, it is over population, when M is negative, it is under population. Therefore, optimum population is not fixed and a rigid one. It is rather variable and relative to resources and technology. Optimum population is not just an economic concept but qualitative in nature. Prof. Cannan has correctly remarked, “It is being perpetually altered by the progress of knowledge and other changes affecting the economic system. It is, thus, a dynamic concept. It may be higher or lower as different
  • 9.
    Concept of UnderPopulation Under population exists when a population is too small, therefore unable to fully utilise the available resource endowments. Under population is also characterised by a situation where the available resources are capable of supporting a much larger population with no reduction in living standards. The situation is found in regions of low technical development such as equatorial Congo, Amazon River basin or the rich Prairie region of North America.
  • 11.
    Relative under populationis more common than absolute under population. Indeed, absolute under population is rarely seen and may be found in completely secluded societies where, the degree of replacement of population is less than unity. Relative under population occurs due to insufficient resource development. In developed economies, rural under population is more visible, whereas in backward countries, under population is linked to high mortality rate.
  • 12.
    Concept of OverPopulation The term ‘overpopulation’ means too great a population for a given region to support. There may be two causes: (i) population growth exceeds the existing resource base; (ii) existing resources have been depleted. The situation of overpopulation displays the following socio- economic characteristics: high unemployment, low incomes, low standards of living, high population density, malnutrition and famine.
  • 14.
    Some authors distinguishabsolute overpopulation (where the absolute limit of production has been attained but standards of living remain low) from relative overpopulation (where present production does not population but the production can be augmented).
  • 15.
  • 16.
    This Power PointPresentation (PPT) has been prepared only to deliver the lecture. The materials (Maps, Diagrams and Images) used in this presentation have been collected and compiled by the presenter from various academic blogs, research papers, books etc.
  • 17.