Some people are ahead of their times but as per usual no notice is taken of them

http://divermag.com/letter-to-the-women-of-the-world-by-hans-hass/

The world doesn't have a peak population. There are areas of dense population, and areas of very little population. Yet still we say we are over populated. The areas of dense population are an attraction to many others to come too. To escape their current life situtions for what a large city has to offer. (Culture, career, adventure). Many areas of sparse populations have a reason to be sparse. (No work, fewer resources).

But from what I can tell areas with little population are there latgely because of a depressed economy and low job oppurtunities. If more successful industries spread out people would follow suit. (Without harming the world resources).

Instead of asking if the world has a peak population. I'd turn it around and ask if there's a cap on work, industries, and businesses. Then if the answer is yes, I'd ask if it was artificially caped (government restrictions/ regulations) or if other factors contribute that could be overcome.

Greed and waste are two elements that give the same symptoms of overpopulation. Where there aren't enough resources. But their cause of being wasteful or greedy that strip resources away from the sourounding population seem not to be noticed as much in the conversation of over population.

Hey Belly,
It's hard to say what the number for global maximum population might be.
I suspect that the earth could take a whole lot more than we think, with the right application of innovative technology, and the right management.
Maybe 50 billion or more, it really depends on our ability to feed ourselves sustainably.

You lot are probably gonna say 'Whoa!' but hear me out.
In fact just watch this short video first:
http://youtu.be/nH-zpnoNLEU

I want you to be optimistic and consider that if this is where our potential is then where is the limit?
All we really need is food and shelter.
Imagine this type of technology just a few short years down the track. Imagine 10,000 of these machines all working together to build a single city for a million or people that was just one huge single building.
Automation could change everything, all we need to build is energy and resources.
Alan B. reminds us there are answers for energy, and so then all we need is good nutritional food.
Now I'm sure we can innovate with farming and food creation in the same way robots can build a house.

In posting this I knew we can not ignore both those who say people like Dick Smith are racist, and those who think to subject is refugees/migration, those are symptoms not the question, Capitalism, the best of every system we have ever tried,is in the end a Ponzi scheme, it needs constant growth to continue,that is in every thing, can we say parts of west Africa, constantly subject to famine and drought is over populated? is the answer moving the victims some other place or confronting over all numbers who can live there?
I think it is clear we are already over populated,and that every thing from climate change to concerns over water are symptoms of that

//if not when will it, how will we handle it?//

Have you tried 'kill all the poor'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owI7DOeO_yg

Just kidding... although I suspect some of our resident Tories would be only too happy to consider genocide of certain groups as a method population control.

BTW, does anybody think it's a coincidence that we've had Liberal treasurers since 2013, and it's been about 5 years since I've seen a dwarf in this country?

The rate of population growth has been declining for the last 50 years or so, and is likely to keep declining as those countries with high growth rates develop economically. The smart money is on world population levelling off somewhere around 12 billion, then probably starting to decline a bit after that.

//We have a finite planet with finite resources.//

On the other hand:

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”
- Douglas Adams

And the population of the universe is zero:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObwmwnbSw-A

In short, we need to get off this rock and out into the galaxy. Before the Vogons show up.