Antara, Jakarta – Minister of National Development Planning and Head of Bappenas, Rachmat Pambudy, stated that Indonesia's population growth rate currently outpaces the global average.

"The world population is now over 8 billion, and Indonesia's population is over 280 million. If we followed the global population growth trend, we should only have 240 million. This means our growth rate is above the global average. If it's above the average, we must be careful," he remarked during the launch of the Country Programme Implementation Plan (CPIP) for the Indonesia-UNFPA Cycle 11 Cooperation Program in Jakarta on Tuesday, as reported by Antara.

Under these conditions, Indonesia will reap a demographic bonus only if its younger population is managed effectively. Conversely, an aging population would inevitably lead to a decline in overall productivity.

Therefore, the Minister reminded all levels of government to address the issue of environmental carrying capacity as the population continues to climb.

"If we study it, some disasters are not just natural events, but are human-caused due to the pressure of our population. The larger the population, the more water, food, and energy it needs, ultimately exceeding the capacity of the world to provide. But, if the world were managed fairly, it would actually be sufficient," Rachmat noted.

"When a disaster occurs, the first priority is the population. The most important people are babies, children, pregnant women, and adolescent girls, because adolescent girls face different treatment than adolescent boys," the Bappenas chief added.

In this context, cooperation between Indonesia and the UNFPA is considered crucial to addressing these significant challenges.

"Indonesia aspires to realize its Golden Indonesia vision, and this effort needs to be supported by strengthening the role of women in development and utilizing population data," the Minister concluded.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2099500/indonesias-population-growth-exceeds-global-average-says-bappena