The 20th Century's Largest Population Slowdowns by The Globalist

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Special Feature > Global Society The 20th Century's Largest Population Slowdowns
By The Globalist \| Monday, January 23, 2012

The 20th century was marked by rapid population growth — nearly quadrupling from 1.6 billion to 6.1 billion people. However, the century was also shaped by major events that exerted significant downward pressures on population growth. We wonder: Which of the following events caused the largest population slowdown over the past 100 years?

Answers:

A. World Wars I and II
B. Global influenza epidemic of 1918
C. HIV/AIDS epidemic
D. China's "one child" policy

A. World Wars I and II is not correct.

World War I resulted in roughly 22 million military and civilian deaths, compared to 40-50 million for World War II (according to Encyclopedia Britannica).

In World War II, the Soviet Union sustained the largest number of overall fatalities (18 million), followed by Poland (5.8 million) and Germany (4.2 million). The United Kingdom and the United States suffered nearly 350,000 and 300,000 combined military and civilian fatalities, respectively.

B. Global influenza epidemic of 1918 is not correct.

The influenza epidemic of 1918 is believed to have been the deadliest global epidemic in history, causing the deaths of about 50 million people - roughly as many as were killed in World War II.

In the United States, about 600,000 people died from the virus, more than five times the number of Americans who died in World War I — and twice as many as died in World War II.

C. HIV/AIDS epidemic is not correct.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been the deadliest epidemic of the second half of the 20th century. Since 1981, nearly 65 million people have become infected with HIV — and an estimated 25 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses. Sub-Saharan Africa has borne the brunt of the epidemic, with close to two-thirds of all adults and children with HIV worldwide living in the region.

D. China's "one child" policy is correct.

Concerned with the consequences of its growing — and already very large — population, China in the late 1970s adopted a "one child" policy to limit future population growth. This halved China's fertility rate from about 3.3 children per couple to around 1.7 children per couple. It also contributed significantly to reducing poverty levels in the country. This is especially noticeable in comparison to India, where population growth remains unrestrained to this day — and poverty levels are still high.

If the fertility level of the 1970s had remained constant until today, China's population would be 400 million larger than it is today — reaching 1.7 billion instead of its current 1.3 billion.