Along with environmental degradation, India faces social, economic and political issues that are directly connected to its rapid increase of people. Some 36% live below the poverty line and half of India’s people survive on less than $1 a day. Around 48% of the adult population is illiterate. Women are ruthlessly discriminated against which can be seen in the 62% illiteracy rate for women. About 53% of children under the age of five are malnourished with little access to safe water and proper sanitation. There are roughly 100 million child laborers in India (December 23, 1999 The Earth Times ).

India is also dealing with the challenge of education. About 338 million children are under the age of 15 years. Proper education is the key to smaller families, which will slow the population growth. The problem of educating the immense country, with its 25 states, speaking 19 major languages, and practicing over 6 religions, has remained difficult. According to Thomas Donohoe, the funds that may have been used for education were instead used for problems of poverty, food shortages, and raw material needs. Schools also fill up past the capacity point and as a result the amount of people being educated and the level of education decreases due to lack of resources. In addition to education, providing enough jobs for the 10 million new entrants into the job market annually is even more challenging. Agriculture is the main occupation for approximately 67% of the population. In 1960, the number of farms was 48 million, which increased to 105 million in 1990 (World Watch News Brief 99-6).

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