Introduction to Human Population and Quick Overview of Human Population History

The human population is comparable to thriving bacteria, multiplying steadily over time until it completely takes over the host body and can possibly lead to unfortunate consequences. The human population is a forever growing group most people do not give a second thought about, but is in fact reaching a very precarious position in terms of the scary pace at which it continues to grow. Our effects on the earth are undeniable and the future consequences inevitable as humans blindly reproduce. Yet, how did we reach this situation? What are the major factors that have contributed to the decline and eventual growth of the human population through the years? And what does the future hold in relation to the effect of the human population? This blog will attempt a broad overview to answer these questions.

            In order to understand the effects the human population currently has, we must start from the beginning and comprehend how humans first came about. While there is not one theory agreed on as the origin of mankind, a leading theory introduced the concept of the ‘recent African origin’ model. This model discusses the idea that the ancestors of all modern humans originated in East Africa. It is estimated around 100,000 years ago, humans left the continent of Africa and migrated to other parts of the world, displacing previously established humans species such as Neanderthals in Europe (Prugnolle et al 2005). The human population grew at a steady pace. Up until the eleventh millennium B.C., it is estimated that the world population stabilized at about one million people whose main methods of survival consisted of hunting and gathering which ensured a low population density. The total world population never exceeded fifteen million inhabitants until the invention and revolution of agriculture. Fast forward to about 2,000 years ago around the dawn of the first millennium A.D., the world’s population was around 300 million people. About 1,000 years later, the population had risen by around ten million. Growth was stunted for a period of time due to different plagues. But by the time of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18^th century, the population exploded. 800 years later the population had reached a milestone of one billion people. A little over one hundred years later, the population reached two billion. Growth increased dramatically since then. It is now estimated that the world holds over seven billion people (see figure 1) (Lewis 2004).

Figure 1: Map of  world population distribution

            The growth of the human population did not happen by a miracle overnight. There were several forces and factors that came into play concerning the human population throughout history. While these forces and factors are still debated about today, they can arguably be summarized into four different areas: geographical location, natural resources, disease, and technology. The development of each area throughout history will be presented as well as an in depth analysis of how it has affected the human population in the past, present, and future in relation to natality, mortality, emigration, immigration, and fecundity.