China - Is the Size of Her Population Stopping Her from Becoming the Next World Leader?

China - Is the size of her population stopping her from becoming the next world leader?

Introduction

China is known for its large population and this is said to affect the country’s socioeconomic and environmental development in some very negative ways. As of 2005, China is ranked as the third largest country in the world by area and the largest by population with an expectation of growth rate in population of 0.9% per year (Bergaglio, 2005). This growth in population will eventually result in three peaks: that of the total population, aging, and working-age population; thus will there be a continuous depletion of resources due to the consumption of the large population. With inadequate resources, that China becoming the next world leader will be just an unachievable dream.

Overpopulation in China

Some consider that the growth of population is important for the economic growth. They insist a larger number of individuals who are willing to work, trade, or do other business can highly contribute to the national capital. However, according to Yuan et al., (1997), there are many problems that might result from overpopulation, many of which closely affects environmental, social, and economic spheres. There is also a potential that these problems might become aggravated due to the size of the population.

The Chinese population will soon reach a level where there will not be enough resources to sustain itself, let alone leading the world. For example, as China has industrialized and the economy has grown (Xizhe & Zhigang. 2000), the increase in wealth and a large population has increased the demand for food in China. The demand is so great that China went from exporting 8 million tons of grain in 1992 to becoming a net importer of 16 million tons of grain in 1994. This contributed to a worldwide grain shortage problem, which has raised prices, and in turn puts food out of reach for even more people. These are the very same problems that have been obstructing...