The minister said with a population growth rate of 1.49 percent per year Indonesia was among the countries with the most rapidly increasing populations in the world.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Recent reports that the world population has reached seven billion people should also be a warning for Indonesia about the threat the fact implies, a minister said.
"It implies a threat especially because Indonesia`s own population is currently estimated at about 240 million," said Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono at an event to mark the moment the world population had reached seven billion by the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday.
The minister said with a population growth rate of 1.49 percent per year Indonesia was among the countries with the most rapidly increasing populations in the world.
"Population growth in Indonesia is continuing to increase and this is reason for serious concern," the minister said, adding that the growing number of people might eventually affect the availability of food, land, energy and others resources.
"Unbriddled population growth will cause new problems," Agung said.
At the same time, Indonesian National Population and Family Planning head Sugiri Syarief said that the world with a population of seven billion has actually been celebrated around the world including Indonesia.
"This warning is made to arouse our concern about the development of the world`s population that is still growing at a rapid rate," said Sugiri.
Sugiri said that the United Nations (UN) has determined that on October 31, 2011 the world population has reached up to seven billion.
"Commemoration of the current population is aimed to reminded us on our population is still growing by about 3.5 million births per year, and estimated that each day there are 10 thousand babies born in Indonesia," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
