The Overpopulation Project
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Category: Family Planning
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Population growth is still rapid. Has the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) forgotten family planning programs?
Projected population growth of about 2 billion in Africa and elsewhere contributes to poverty, impoverished reproductive health, and degradation of environment and climate. In a new publication in the journal Reproductive Health we argue that this unsustainable growth and the crucial role of family planning are neglected by among others the UN Population Fund. We…
6 comments on Population growth is still rapid. Has the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) forgotten family planning programs? -
Is Legal Abortion Required for Sustainable Fertility?
Our planet can’t sustain an ever-growing number of humans, but many countries have already reached below-replacement birth rates enabling a future rebalancing of humans with nature. While modern contraceptive technologies deservedly take most of the credit, how important has abortion access been? by Richard Grossman, MD, MPH All readers should be aware that globally, humans…
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Why is Africa’s extreme population growth ignored, despite very serious consequences? And how will Europe respond?
Continued rapid global population growth is unsustainable, but the media instead focus on low birth rates in developed countries. Most future growth will be in Africa, where young people want to emigrate to Europe or other developed regions. How will EU countries act in the face of Africa’s extreme population growth and increasing migration? By…
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Don’t burn care: save contraceptives, save lives
Contraceptives that could prevent 100,000 unsafe abortions are sitting in a Belgian warehouse, at risk of being burned under Donald Trump’s order. Please consider sending an email to the Flemish ministers who have the power to stop it. by WeMove Europe In a quiet warehouse in Flanders, Belgium, nearly $10 million in life-saving contraceptives sit sealed…
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Trump denies women in need access to contraception
The recent dismantling of USAID bodes ill for women’s health in some of the world’s poorest countries. America can and should do better. by Jenny Goldie For several decades, there were major gains globally in access to family planning and reproductive health services. The US Government contributed significantly to this progress through its Agency for International Development…
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For the sake of food security, we must address population numbers
On World Population Day, Jenny Goldie reminds us that food is humanity’s most basic and most vulnerable necessity, but reducing the number of mouths to feed remains off the food security agenda. by Jenny Goldie As a child, the thought of other children going to bed hungry upset me. Later, I began university studies in…
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The Carl Wahren papers are now available at Sweden’s National Archives
The Overpopulation Project has been ranked as one of the 10 best demography blogs of 2025 by FeedSpot. Thank you to all our readers for engaging with and sharing our work. For researchers working on historical population issues and interested lay persons, the Carl Wahren papers are a gold mine. See examples below, described by…
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High fertility in low-income settings: the cruelty of unfettered capitalism
Abrupt as they may seem, recent changes to US aid policies are consistent with the neoliberal economic ideology long championed by many Republicans, and embraced by many Democrats, since the Reagan presidency. Family planning was one of its casualties, according to Colin Butler. by Colin Butler The re-election of US President Donald Trump appears to…
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Canceling the Demographic and Health Surveys and Ending USAID’s role in Family Planning and Reproductive Health Programs: Why it Matters
In a world with changing demographic trends, does the retreat by the U.S. government from international population and family planning programs matter? Our answer is a resounding yes. by Win Brown and Karen Hardee We are demographers who earned our graduate degrees in the 1980s, when academic programs in population and family planning were booming.…
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Pro-life = Anti-choice
Today coercion is much more prevalent globally in pronatalist policies that increase population size than it is in family planning policies that decrease fertility and limit population. For this and other reasons, the ‘pro-life’ movement is often anti-life in its consequences. by Jan Greguš, Masaryk University, Czech Republic When discussing population policies, many worry about…
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Which international aid to Africa do Swedish voters prefer? A new survey provides answers
The Swedish government wants to direct more aid to trade and business. But voters rate such orientation low and prefer developmental support and/or humanitarian aid. The results also show interesting support for assistance to family planning. (A slightly shorter version of this article was published in Swedish as an Op-Ed in Dagens Arena, an online…
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Joseph Speidel on Carl Wahren and the early days of family planning
Recent years have seen a concerted effort to rewrite post-war family planning efforts as one big racist, sexist, imperialist conspiracy. It is now important, as the last people who worked on these campaigns pass from the scene, to reflect honestly yet fairly on their work. Here Céline Delacroix, a senior fellow with the Population Institute,…
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Thirty years is too long to turn a blind eye to world population growth
September 13 marks thirty years since the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo effectively denounced population stabilisation as a development goal. The consequences have been disastrous. by Jane O’Sullivan The United Nations Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in September 1994 profoundly shifted the UN’s approach to…
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Realizing Quality Families
World Vasectomy Day is coming up in November. Retired obstetrician-gynecologist Richard Grossman explains how vasectomies should be used as a more common tool when couple’s plan their families. by Richard Grossman MD I was walking down the street in Mountain View, California when I noticed a man coming toward me wearing a white T-shirt with…
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Religion affects birth rates
The global human population will increase by 2.4 billion to 2088, according to the UN. Birth rates are high in some parts of the world, leading to continued population growth. In Africa and parts of Asia, and within Muslim countries and communities, religiosity promotes high birth rates. This role of religion could, however, potentially be…
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Offsetting CO2 emissions from flights: a connection to population
Carbon offsets are always a compromise, not a substitute for avoiding emissions. However, if you have to fly, there are better options than the airlines’ voluntary offset programs. by Stephen Warren, Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA Airplanes are responsible for less than three percent of global CO2 emissions1, but aviation…
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Meet the Nigerian Teacher Who Advocates for Family Planning
Coming from a family of seven children, Chidera Benoit knows better than anyone how challenging it is to grow up in a big family in Nigeria and achieve a good living standard. Convinced that Nigerian women and men should be free to decide their family size, this young and motivated teacher and Executive Director of…
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New State of the World Population report conceals family planning as UNFPA’s most successful product
Thirty years ago, the Population Fund of the United Nations (UNFPA) started drifting away from its original objectives focused on reducing population growth. Its new State of the World Population Report illustrates how this drift undermines its mission to help the world’s poor. by Jan van Weeren and Jane O’Sullivan This year’s State of the…
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Carl Wahren (1933-2024), In Memoriam
We note the passing of an admired leader in the field of family planning, our colleague and friend Carl Wahren. To commemorate his life and work, we share a new, wide-ranging interview with Carl about population policies and the changing role of the UN in international family planning. by The Overpopulation Project It is with…
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The Truth about Abortion
Abortion rights are under attack in many countries. Yet a recent study shows just how damaging, both psychologically and economically, being denied an abortion can be. by Richard Grossman MD Dr. C. Everett Koop was President Ronald Reagan’s Surgeon General for most of his 2 terms. An excellent pediatric surgeon, Dr. Koop had very strong…
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The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) at 30 – Let’s Address the Unfinished Agenda
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, a watershed event in international population and reproductive health policy. It’s a good time to reflect on its legacy. by Joseph Speidel and Jane N. O’Sullivan The ICPD Programme of Action (POA) has served as a…
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The Other Side of Reproductive Coercion
Reproductive coercion comes in different forms – forced sterilization as well as forcing women to bear unwanted children. Both forms must be fought. By Richard Grossman Reproductive health abuses, especially coercion, have turned many people away from concern about human population. I agree: reproductive coercion should be shunned. Examples of coercive actions include sterilization of…
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Earth’s nature is being ravaged by population growth
Humanity’s rapid expansion leads to environmental destruction, starvation and ravaged biodiversity. Population growth needs to be ended as soon as possible for sustainability. By Malte Andersson and Frank Götmark Published 2024-01-02 in Svenska Dagbladet, morning newspaper in Sweden (translated by TOP) In 1800, the world’s population was 1 billion, but in 2022 we exceeded 8…
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Pronatalism on the Rise to Counter Growing Push for Gender Equality
Pronatalists try to present their ideology as promoting the security of the family, but it is linked to the far-right agenda, uses falsified data to prove their points, and counteracts gender equality. By Nandita Bajaj There’s an insidious new tactic emerging for selling right-wing ideology to wider audiences, evident in [the September 2023] Budapest Demographic…
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How to Fix the Planet, the Easy Way
To avoid disastrous deterioration of Earth’s climate and biosphere, humanity has to reduce its demands on nature. Fewer births and a falling population is no quick fix, but compared with voluntary austerity, it has many more up-sides than down-sides. by Jon Austen Scientists are reporting that there is an existential threat to life on Earth.…
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Delusional population projections lead us sleepwalking into catastrophe
Recent United Nations population projections paint a comforting picture of immanent population stabilization. But what if they are wrong? Global population growth does not appear to be slowing as quickly as UN demographers have predicted, making widespread famines and run-away climate change more likely in the coming decades. By Jane O’Sullivan The Elon Musks of…
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Human population reduction is not a quick fix for environmental problems
Then again, neither is anything else. The long lag time between fertility reduction and population stabilization is a key reason we need to address excessive human numbers sooner rather than later. by Phil Cafaro There’s an argument one often hears that goes like this: “sure, population is important. But we need to reduce our environmental…
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Even with strong early family planning programs, 50 years or more are needed to halt population growth
Low birth rates are often regarded as problematic by major media, which overlook the perils of population increase. Here we show that unsustainable long-term population growth prevails in developing countries, despite historical family planning and gradually sinking birth rates. One lesson is that further reduced rates are urgently needed in high-fertility countries, in Africa and…
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Gattopardi and cheap labor
Reflections from Italy on the wicked problem of unregulated and unregulatable immigration into Western Europe. by Gaia Baracetti I could never understand what animal exactly the gattopardo was supposed to be. A leopard? A cheetah? A mythical beast? For sure, none of those roams my country. But I, like most Italians, always understood the meaning…
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Why Overpopulation Should Be a Women’s Issue
The costs of overpopulation and lack of family planning access fall disproportionately on women. Securing women’s rights and ecological sustainability depend on a clear-eyed understanding of this. This raises the question of why there are not more women who are actively involved in the issue of human overpopulation. By Karen Shragg and Madeline Weld An observation…
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The Population Factor back by popular demand
In 2020 and 2021, I recorded two seasons of the TV show The Population Factor. Each episode features in-depth conversations focused on a particular aspect of the population/environment connection. Check out seasons one (hour-long episodes) and two (half-hour episodes), all available for free streaming at the links below. by Phil Cafaro Season 1 Episode 1.…
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To Advance Humanity and Save Nature We Need a Common Agenda
Problems caused by rapid population growth, environmental degradation and climate disruption are harming human welfare and the natural world. These problems are largely addressed separately, with little common understanding or integration of efforts. Our recent paper, Advancing the Welfare of People and the Planet with a Common Agenda for Reproductive Justice, Population, and the Environment,…
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More population neglect from the United Nations
The UN’s latest State of the World Population 2023 report deepens its denouncement of population concerns. While it commendably emphasizes women’s reproductive rights, it neglects the role an excessive and growing population plays in driving global ecological degradation and overlooks the many ways overpopulation can undermine poor people’s rights to safety and security. by Jan…
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Recent blog posts
- Population growth is still rapid. Has the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) forgotten family planning programs?
- The Most Appropriate Response to Falling Birthrates? Embrace Them
- New paper defends a pragmatic definition of overpopulation
- Because everyone else is (not) doing it: How social pressures may be the key to understand family size preferences
- The Psychology of our Strange Overpopulation Taboo
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