How Did The Population Grow In The 20th Century

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In 1850 the total population of the least developed areas in the world was approximately three times higher than that of the most developed. In the 50 years leading up to the 20th century, the population of more developed countries grew at an annual increase of roughly 1.0 percent, similar to that of today’s rate. In contrast, the population of more underdeveloped countries was growing at a slower rate of about 0.3 percent. Due to such drastic differences in growth rates, by 1900, the population of underdeveloped areas was only double that of more developed areas. Due to a decline in death rates among lesser developed countries however, the rate of population growth between 1900 and 1950 began to more closely resemble that of the developed …show more content…
India was the first country to establish an official policy intended to lessen the rate of population growth by means of promoting family planning. Birth control activists were initially met with resistance and their progress was slow as they were not supported or endorsed by the government who was hesitant to intrude on such private matters. Similarly, various religious and conservative groups strongly opposed the birth control movement and were successful in voicing collective rejection.
By the 1960s, the rate of population growth had increased to 2.5% a year in developed nations, and up to 3% in undeveloped countries. As birth rates remained high and death rates low, threats of food shortages emerged, providing an impetus for even stronger government action, increased funding for population control programs, and the establishment of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities in
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For example, in Stockholm in 1972, first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment attracted extensive global media coverage and raised global awareness of population and environmental issues through the course of one event. Similarly, the United Nations-sponsored World Population Conference, held in 1974, attracted much attention when governments from developing nations congregated to set targets for lessening population growth, and instead spent the time arguing for the implementation of international economic order to, in turn, stimulate development. Despite the initial reluctance of governments to accept family planning policies, most came around to the idea and agreed to take action. Among the first to do so were the Chinese who became so concerned about the issue, that they adopted the poorly received and controversial one-child policy in