Overpopulation in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo

Gina Mazzocchi
Nichole Baker
Samantha Wolff
Population Statistics
 Population: 66,514,504
 Population Density: 25/km2 65/sq mi
 % of population rural: 70%
 % of population urban: 30%
 Life expectancy male: 52.22 years
 Life expectancy female: 55.8 years
 Births per 1000: 43
 Deaths per 1000: 11.8
 Infant mortality rate per 1000: 83.11
More Statistics

 Labor Force % industrial: N/A

 Labor Force % agricultural: N/A
 Average mean income per family:
An Article From globalissues.com About
Overpopulation

There have been a number of complex reasons, including conflicts

over basic resources such as water, access and control over rich
minerals and other resources as well as various political agendas. This
has been fuelled and supported by various national and international
corporations and other regimes which have an interest in the outcome of
the conflict. Since the outbreak of fighting in August 1998, some 5.4
million people have died. It has been the world’s deadliest conflict since
World War II. The vast majority have actually died from non-violent
causes such as malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition—all
typically preventable in normal circumstances, but have come about
because of the conflict. Although 19% of the population, children account
for 47% of the deaths. Although many have returned home as violence
has slightly decreased, there are still some 1.5 million internally
displaced or refugees. Some 45,000 continue to die each month. These
shocking figures would usually be more than enough to get media
attention the world over, especially if it were to threaten influential
nations in some way. Yet, perhaps as a cruel irony, influential nations in
the world benefit from the vast resources coming from the DRC for which
people are dying over.
An Article From overpopulation.org About
Overpopulation

A least 14 million out the population of the Democratic Republic of

Congo, estimated at between 46-48 million, suffer from extreme nutritional
deficiency, according to Michel Kassa of the UN Development. Children
were particularly hit by the war-induced phenomenon. He emphasised
that the situation in the country was one of the most pathetic and complex
in the African region, with massive violations of the population's rights.
Since August 1998 when rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda, the
war's first victims have been the civilian population, unlike classical
warfare. Poor infrastructure problems made it virtually impossible to reach
vulnerable groups. 10% of the displaced people in the North-Kivu region
were practically cut off from access to medical care or food and were thus
dying in the forests from hunger and disease. According to UNDP
estimates, the ongoing war had caused a rise in maternal mortality, which
now stands at 1,800 per 100,000 births, making it the third or fourth
highest death toll in the world.
Causes of Overpopulation in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo

 Child sex abuse (incest)

 People having more children than is needed for
simple replacement
 The fertility rate in general
 Legal immigration
Consequences of Overpopulation in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo

 Wild animals are disappearing due to over-hunting and

environmental destruction.
 Cost of living has increased enormously because of
short supply of food, energy, and shelter.
 Noise pollution and light pollution are so high that they
disrupt normal biorhythm.
 Countries go to war for natural resources because of
too many people.
 Prices of fish are high because 90% of the big fish are
gone.
Possible Solutions to Overpopulation in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo

 Reduce suffering by combating disease and poverty.

 Introduce family planning solutions to the people of
DRC.
 Empower women economically, socially, and legally in
a manner that results in them having an equal say, with
their husbands, in reproductive decisions.
A Controversial Solution to Overpopulation in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Some people are saying that we should consider using

the one-child rule found in China and making it global to
stop the issue of overpopulation. For some places this might
not be a problem but I’m sure that many countries enjoy
having their families the size that they please. Governments
would obviously like to enforce this to reduce the
overpopulation issue and that’s understanding why they
would do this. This would help reduce poverty as well as
pollution, environmental destruction, and other issues
caused by overpopulation. However, on the other side of the
situation, families would not be happy with only being able
to have one child per family because they are so used to
having many children so they can take care of their home
and family.