Causes of overpopulation in Nigeria and its consequences

Friday, September 28, 2018 at 5:07 PM by Kate Golub 4 min read

What are the causes of overpopulation in Nigeria? How does the country deal with demographic and social issues? Overpopulation is a complex problem that is caused by many factors of both social and cultural nature. Keep on reading to find out the causes and consequences of this global problem.

What is overpopulation?

Overpopulation is defined as a particular condition due to which the number of people on a definite area is so dense that it causes environmental declension, a population crash or deterioration of the quality of life.

Causes of overpopulation in Nigeria

Population growth may become a severe problem for a country, which has a lack of natural resources to cater to the needs of its inhabitants. According to the research, by the end of 2018, the population of Nigeria will increase to 199,805,437 people. The population density, defined by another analysis, is 210.7 people for one square kilometer.

What are the key causes and effects of overpopulation?

Here are the factors that stimulate overpopulation:

Low level of education in family planning and increased birth rate. Even at present one may observe great number of illiterates and those who continue to follow the customs of their ancestors. They have almost no knowledge about family planning. People get their children married at the very early age, as a tribute to the traditions. In some areas to have many children is a part of traditions.
The improvement of medical care: Modern medicine provides adult and infants with vaccines that help them to recover from sickness and live longer.
Great immigration/emigration. People to search for better conditions to live, work and study. They move from one country to another one, from small cities to the biggest ones and increase the population.
Cultural influence and religious belief. In the world of modern technologies, one can still find tribes, whose cultural feature is lots of children.
Male-child preference. You will be surprised to know that many cultures in Nigeria appreciate male babies rather than female ones. If a female baby is born into a family, the couple continues attempts until they gets a male child.

Does overpopulation affect Nigeria’s economy?

Rising cost of living
Brain drain (large cities provide significant opportunities and “accumulate” smart heads);
Low level of income per head
Rise in unemployment rate: There are few job opportunities for the fast growing labour force
Creates an increased demand for services, products, clothes, and goods;
provokes technological advances.

READ ALSO: Effects of population growth in Nigeria

Consequences of Overpopulation in Nigeria

What are the consequences of overpopulation?

Overpopulation has its pros and cons:

It stimulates demand in the society and changes investment patterns.
It encourages the growth of industry: production of more items for the daily comfort of all people.
The growth of birth opens diverse opportunities for both consumers and manufacturers: children need specific care, vaccination, education, and recreational facilities. The main task for manufacturers is to create the best conditions for their well-being, while consumers get a wider choice of tools for infants.
Large number of people in a city provokes the rise in prices and make inhabitants spend almost all their money for basic needs.
High prices make people choose goods of lower quality and even live in so-called “ghetto” or slum areas.
The government provides special programs for family planning. The main idea of them is to make young people aware that one should have the number of children he can give a meaningful life to.
The growth of population causes strict control about the usage of natural resources.
Increased degradation of the environment (natural resources are used a lot, which leads to general declining; air pollution, water pollution).