Assuming income is the same, countries with more people, produce more knowledge. A larger population is associated with more knowledge and productivity, because there are more potential inventors and adopters of new technologies. Over . . . More people are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. Man's basic tool of survival is reason.
Humans are creators.
Every person, being equipped with a mind, is a potential problem solver and not just a consumer of resources. More people will solve more problems, make more scientific discoveries, invent more things that make life better. That is exactly what happens. A shortage of a good or service, including a resource, encourages a search both for additional supplies and for substitutes. But this is so only when those who are successful are able to profit from their effort.