Research Finding

Population Growth

Research Justification

The growth of the world's people is a phenomenon that continues to affect the world in diverse ways. While there are positive impacts of the growth of the global population including the expansion of the labor market, the challenges are more potent. The reason is that it continues to exert more pressure on the world and the natural resources, which in turn affects adversely the future of the world. Based on these facts, there is a need to conduct research to understand the drivers of the rising global population. Further, research is crucial in illumining the effects as views from the economic, social, cultural, and environmental perspectives. The present research aims to illuminate such issues related to the expanding global population. 

Background Report Summary

Two main types of challenges affect the world due to the expansion of populations. They include the environmental issues and social issues. The reason is that growth in populations exerts pressure on the resources of the world. More people continue to depend on resources that are ever reducing, especially given the zeal with which human beings exploit them. Correspondingly, various social problems crop up as the number of people increases and resources grow scarcer. Such include the rising number of global conflicts and shrinking personal freedoms among others. They form the background of the present research, which aims to understand the following issues related to the rising world's population.

1.     Is poor culture the primary reason for the unchecked growth of population in the world?

2.     Are there economic factors that drive population growth in some areas of the world?

3.     Is women empowerment a critical solution to global population growth?

4.     Would social legislation help to reduce the rate of population growth?

Data Collection Procedure

The primary data collection strategy adopted for this study is the use of questionnaires. Specifically, the questionnaire contained ten closed-ended questions that focused on understanding the causes and effects of the rising global population. The data collection took place both online survey and using paper questionnaires administered in person by the researcher. The researcher sampled thirty-five students from the college to participate in the study. Notably, while ten students participated in the study by answering an online questionnaire, twenty-five of them participated in person, and the researcher sampled them randomly from the library and the food court. Although the questions were elaborate, the researcher remained close to the respondents to help in clarifying any potential issues. The researcher then tabulated all the responses and subsequently provided various percentages. 

Results

Questions	Q1		Q2				Q3
	YES	NO	A	B	C	D	A	B	C	D
Answers	22	13	9	13	11	5	8	15	7	5
Results	%62.86	%37.14	%25.71	%37.14	%31.44	%5.71	%22.86	%42.86	%20	%14.28

Q4		Q5		Q6				Q7
YES	NO	A	B	A	B	C	D	YES	NO
27	8	15	20	5	13	15	2	18	17
%77.14	%22.86	%42.86	%57.14	%14.29	%37.14	%42.86	%5.71	%51.43	%48.57

Q8				Q9		Q10
A	B	C	D	YES	NO	A	B	C	D
9	10	13	3	23	12	10	15	8	2
%25.71	%28.57	%37.14	%8.58	%65.71	%34.29	%28.57	%42.86	%22.86	%5.71

The majority of the respondents agree that the world is overpopulated. Further, over 37.14% of them agree that social issues are the primary drivers of the rising population in the world. As explained, such social problems include lack of education regarding birth control among others. Interestingly, 42.86% of the respondents corresponded that the cultural perspective that children are a form of wealth was an important cultural dimension that influenced the growing population of the world. Regarding the economic issues, an overwhelming majority of the respondents concurred that such matters were central to the discussion and analysis of global population growth. Further, 54.14% of them agreed that the wealthy people were more likely to have more children due to their ability to support them. Meanwhile, 42.86% of the respondents viewed environmental degradation as the direct effect of population growth. 

Regarding the solutions to the challenges of population growth, 51.43% of the interviewees agreed that women empowerment was a critical part of the solution. More specifically, 37.14% of them cited social empowerment as the mot useful form of women empowerment. However, a significant majority of the respondents also agreed that social legislation would be very helpful in controlling the rate of population growth. A further 42.86% cited laws that control the number of children per family as the most valuable in controlling population growth.

Interpretation

The study presents fascinating findings regarding the issues relating to population growth. Notably, the respondents are mostly from Arabic backgrounds and the Arabic culture influenced their responses significantly. For example, Arab culture values large families. It is both a cultural and a social issue, as fathers believe that having many children offers the prestige of virility. It is the reason many of the respondents agreed that social problems primarily drive population growth. Similarly, the Arabic background influenced the majority to cite cultures, especially those that view children as a form of wealth, as an important cultural dimension that explained the unchecked population growth. Interestingly, the UAE is a relatively wealthy nation. Hence, combined with the cultural issues mentioned before, one might understand the reason the majority of the respondents viewed wealth as an important economic issue influencing population growth. 

Notably, the Arab world typically favors the male gender. It explains the reason a majority of the respondents agreed that empowering women socially was a necessary solution. Overall, the findings show that the cultural background of the majority of the interviewees influenced their responses to the questionnaires. Nevertheless, the study uncovered various issues regarding the causes and possible solutions to the challenges of population growth.