Growing population threatens Indonesia

Growing population threatens Indonesia

2011-04-08 20:41:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEDAN, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesia's National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) chief on Friday warned of problems possibly caused by the country's growing overpopulation, Antara news agency reported.

Sugiri Syarief, BKKBN chief, warned that if the Indonesian government does not take measures to control the population's pace of growth, a population explosion could cause more damage to the country's ongoing issues related to garbage, pollution, floods, and traffic jams.

Currently, Indonesia has a population of 237.6 million, with a growth rate of 1.49 percent. Syarief further warned about the difficulty of accessing clean water and air, as well as other climate changes, which would only continue to worsen with the population constantly increasing at high rates.

With a 1.49 growth rate, in the past ten years, Indonesia's population has grown by 32.7 million, which is equal to Canada's and more than Malaysia's, Syarief noted, adding that at the current rate, the country's population would reach 450 million in less than 35 years.

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