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P1The global population, which has more than doubled since the 1960s, places growing demands on freshwater, arable land, fossil fuels and atmospheric capacity. Understanding why this pressure is intensifying and identifying the most effective responses is essential for ensuring a sustainable future.

P2Population growth is highest in regions where access to family planning services is limited and where women have restricted access to education and economic opportunity. Research consistently shows that as female literacy and labour-force participation rise, birth rates fall, because educated women marry later, have greater autonomy over reproductive decisions and tend to have fewer but better-provided-for children. Poverty itself reinforces high fertility in many contexts, as large families serve as economic and social security in the absence of pension systems and public services. Alongside population growth, rising consumption in middle- and high-income countries multiplies environmental pressure per capita: an average resident of a wealthy nation consumes many times the natural resources of someone in a low-income country, meaning that consumption patterns are at least as important as headcount in explaining resource depletion.