The Human Population: Size and Dynamics¹

Demography, the study of human population dynamics, is a fundamental part of human ecology. The explosive growth of the human population, especially in the last century, is an underlying cause of the human predicament today and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. A treatment of human ecology in an introductory biology course should acquaint students with the basic concepts and terminology of demography, including a brief history of the human population, a description of the present demographic situation, and the prospects for the future, including the phenomenon of population momentum. The discussion should be cast in the context of the human environment and resource base, including consideration of the size and behavior of the human population relative to the carrying capacity of the planet for human life.