Effects of Overpopulation

Effects of Overpopulation

Do you know how many people are in Hong Kong? According to Wikipedia, nowadays, there are almost 7.1 million people in Hong Kong, “with an overall density of some 6,300 people per square kilometre.”[1] Therefore, Hong Kong is “already one of the most densely populated cities on earth.”[2] Large population comes up with overpopulation. Moreover, overpopulation brings a number of problems which affect Hong Kong socially, environmentally and economically.

In the social problem, overpopulation will cause not enough public facilities and services to fulfill everyone. When the population takes up all the places, part of the population will be left out. These people may become homeless due to limited housing. More schools, hospitals and transportation are needed. Limited land in Hong Kong cannot be developing continuously. Also, overpopulation will bring up the housing price. In order to adapt to the high rent, people are living under stress. This may lead to the increase of crimes. For example, if a man cannot afford to pay the rent, he may became a thief and steal his neighbor’s things to get money for the rent. Therefore, it raises the social problems such as homelessness, stress and crime.

Furthermore, in the environmental view, overpopulation causes limited spaces in Hong Kong. In order to fit in the huge population, the government needs to develop the rural area into a modern city which causes environmental damage. For example, the government has to remove mountains and drain seas, cut down the trees and build up tall buildings to make more living places. These activities affect the environment and endanger many valuable animals such as the Chinese White Dolphin who then have no place to live. Moreover, due to the cutting down of trees and suffering from the serious traffic congestion, the air quality is poor. These affect the citizens’ health and cause diseases. Therefore, most Hong Kong people have a weak respiratory system. A “Hong Kong study showed higher levels of bronchial