A situation where there are too many people living in an area for the available resources to support.
Compound of 'over-' (Old English 'ofer' meaning 'beyond' or 'too much') and 'population' (Latin 'populatio' from 'populus' meaning 'people'). The term became prominent in 20th-century environmental discussions.
Thomas Malthus predicted in 1798 that overpopulation would cause mass starvation, but he didn't account for agricultural technology—every time humans get too crowded, they invent new ways to produce more food, which is why we keep defying his predictions.
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