The Population Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Biodiversity Threats and Swedish Foreign Aid Perceptions

Abstract

The global population crisis remains underrepresented in public discourse, despite its critical impact on biodiversity and sustainable development. Population growth intensifies environmental challenges such as habitat loss, exploitation of resources, and greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis examines 1) the relationship between human population density and the threat to wild species in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly all of which face high population growth, and 2) public support to family planning in international aid to Africa in a donor country, Sweden. Correlation analyses with data from the IUCN Red List and population metrics from the World Bank show a positive association between human population density and species threats across the following taxonomic groups: all assessed vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered species, Animalia, Plantae, Primates and birds combined, and primates and birds separately. Equatorial Guinea and the Gambia, deviate from the trend in the graph including all assessed species (vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered), making them the focal point of discussion. In Equatorial Guinea, primates and plants are particularly threatened, while the Gambia mainly experiences threats to birds, both based on the measure species threat density. In a survey among 1,333 Swedes, they ranked foreign aid alternatives to Africa. 42% chose democracy and human rights as the highest priority, 41% chose humanitarian aid, 12% chose family planning, while only 5.5% chose trade and business. There were no significant differences in rankings across gender, age, or geographic region; however, respondents with lower education levels were more likely to prioritize family planning compared to those with higher education. Despite little information in Swedish media and books about family planning, Swedes recognized its importance in reducing population growth in Africa. Human population dynamics need to be part of public discourse and policies.