Among the most famous theories of demography is the one associated with the English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834). Malthus’s theory of population growth – outlined in his Essay on Population (1798) – was rather pessimistic.

How did nineteenth-century European History disproved Malthus?

The increase in population of Europe was fraction of what Malthus Predicted. The production of food and other means of subsistence increased because industrialization and modern science could control pandemics in a better way which reduced the dilemma between population and poverty. Industrialization created more jobs and chances outside Europe, so people migrated; this rescued Europe from a population explosion. The growth of the population naturally diminished in Europe because of Climatic conditions and wars.

The production of food and other means of subsistence increased because industrialization and modern science could control pandemics in a better way which reduced the dilemma between population and poverty.

However, the most effective refutation of his theory was provided by the historical experience of European countries. The pattern of population growth began to change in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and by the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century, these changes were quite dramatic. Birth rates had declined, and outbreaks of epidemic diseases were being controlled. Malthus’s predictions were proved false because both food production and living standards continued to rise despite the rapid growth of the population.