These refugees wander about their own countries or cross national borders in search of a new place to live. The lucky ones find asylum in new countries. The year 1991 saw a dramatic increase in the world's refugee population. Millions were displaced by the war in the Persian Gulf. Other millions of Sudanese and Ethiopians in northern Africa were driven from their lands by a combination of political unrest and drought, which led to famine.
Some international aid trickles down to refugees, but their plight remains tragic.
Our cities are mushrooming faster than governments can provide such basic services as jobs, schools and sewage systems. Some demographers foresee a world divided into rich nations with a stable growth in population, and poorer nations struggling to feed, house, clothe and educate their expanding populations. These Photo Essays illustrate the social and economic problems of overpopulation. Temperatures during the '90s were warmer than the '80s. Sea levels could rise, flooding coastal regions.