The Relationship Between Population Growth And Environmental Quality in Zimbabwe: time series analysis (1985-2020)

Abstract

There is a growing belief that so much man-made pollution has deteriorated the quality of the environment. Therefore, it is on the strength of this assertion that this research examines the relationship between population growth and environmental quality in Zimbabwe using the Ordinary Least Squares model (OLS). Using carbon dioxide emission (CO2) as proxy for environmental quality and time series data extracted from the 2020 version of the World Development Indicators for the period 1985 to 2020, the study reveals a negative and significant effect of population growth on environmental quality. The researcher recommends effective family planning programmes, investing towards the education of girl child, developing growth points in rural areas in order to control overall population growth.