Juergen Volkmann
12.07.2008, 16:14
Indonesia faces a struggle to keep birthrate down
Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sat, 07/12/2008 11:41 AM
About 3.5 million babies will be born in Indonesia every year if the current birthrate continues.
But if the family planning program breaks down, the birthrate will at least double -- putting
Indonesia on the verge of a baby boom.
The population has now reached 225 million, according to the National Family Planning Coordinating
Board (BKKBN).
BKKBN head Sugiri Syarief said Friday the country's birthrate had remained stable over the past
five years, with the average number of children born to each Indonesian woman holding steady at 2.6
from 2002 and 2007 -- a remarkable decline from 5.6 children per woman in the early 1970s, when the
birth control program was nonexistent.
According to the World Bank's World Population Day report, globally birthrates have fallen the
fastest in Asia. In East Asia fertility rates are at or below 2.1 children per woman, in Central
Asia they are between 2.5 and 2.6, while in the Middle East and South Asia they are between 3.3 and
3.4.
Sugiri said the growth rate of Indonesia's population had slowed from 2.3 percent in 1970 to 1.4
percent in 2007. The rate is predicted to fall further to 1.3 percent.
He added that, for a country of this size, the birth of an additional 3.5 million babies every
year meant Indonesia had a higher birthrate than any other Southeast Asian country.
The total Asian population is growing by 1.2 percent per year, according to the World Bank.
Sugiri said if the family planning program improved, Indonesia could further slow the growth rate
so the population would increase by only 15 million to 240 million by 2015.
"We're optimistic the family planning program will improve as long as the government, politicians
and stakeholders throw their weight behind the program," Sugiri said at a press conference to
commemorate World Population Day, which falls on July 11.
According to a report from the U.S.-based Population Reference Bureau, in 2050 Indonesia will
still be the world's fourth most populous nation after India, China and the United States, with its
population reaching 308 million. India will emerge as the world's most populous nation with 1.6
billion people, replacing China with 1.4 billion people.
In a bid to improve the family planning program, Sugiri said the BKKBN would launch two programs
next year, designed to improve access to contraception for poor people living in slum areas and
disadvantaged and remote regions. He said the government would distribute free contraceptives to
the poor under the Health Ministry's health insurance scheme for the poor (Jamkesmas).
The United Nations Population Fund has reported that the unmet need for contraceptives in
Indonesia has remained stagnant at 9 percent over the past five years.
In developing countries, the World Bank says, 51 million unplanned pregnancies occur every year to
women who do not use contraception despite a huge increase in contraception use globally.
Another 25 million pregnancies occur because women's contraception fails or they use it incorrectly.
According to the BKKBN, 61.4 percent, or 28.7 million, of Indonesian couples of childbearing age
have taken part in the family planning program, an increase from 500,000 in 1970.
The family planning program in the reform era has never been as large as that run during the New
Order regime.
Source URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/07/12/indonesia-faces-a-struggle-keep-birthrate-down.html
Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sat, 07/12/2008 11:41 AM
About 3.5 million babies will be born in Indonesia every year if the current birthrate continues.
But if the family planning program breaks down, the birthrate will at least double -- putting
Indonesia on the verge of a baby boom.
The population has now reached 225 million, according to the National Family Planning Coordinating
Board (BKKBN).
BKKBN head Sugiri Syarief said Friday the country's birthrate had remained stable over the past
five years, with the average number of children born to each Indonesian woman holding steady at 2.6
from 2002 and 2007 -- a remarkable decline from 5.6 children per woman in the early 1970s, when the
birth control program was nonexistent.
According to the World Bank's World Population Day report, globally birthrates have fallen the
fastest in Asia. In East Asia fertility rates are at or below 2.1 children per woman, in Central
Asia they are between 2.5 and 2.6, while in the Middle East and South Asia they are between 3.3 and
3.4.
Sugiri said the growth rate of Indonesia's population had slowed from 2.3 percent in 1970 to 1.4
percent in 2007. The rate is predicted to fall further to 1.3 percent.
He added that, for a country of this size, the birth of an additional 3.5 million babies every
year meant Indonesia had a higher birthrate than any other Southeast Asian country.
The total Asian population is growing by 1.2 percent per year, according to the World Bank.
Sugiri said if the family planning program improved, Indonesia could further slow the growth rate
so the population would increase by only 15 million to 240 million by 2015.
"We're optimistic the family planning program will improve as long as the government, politicians
and stakeholders throw their weight behind the program," Sugiri said at a press conference to
commemorate World Population Day, which falls on July 11.
According to a report from the U.S.-based Population Reference Bureau, in 2050 Indonesia will
still be the world's fourth most populous nation after India, China and the United States, with its
population reaching 308 million. India will emerge as the world's most populous nation with 1.6
billion people, replacing China with 1.4 billion people.
In a bid to improve the family planning program, Sugiri said the BKKBN would launch two programs
next year, designed to improve access to contraception for poor people living in slum areas and
disadvantaged and remote regions. He said the government would distribute free contraceptives to
the poor under the Health Ministry's health insurance scheme for the poor (Jamkesmas).
The United Nations Population Fund has reported that the unmet need for contraceptives in
Indonesia has remained stagnant at 9 percent over the past five years.
In developing countries, the World Bank says, 51 million unplanned pregnancies occur every year to
women who do not use contraception despite a huge increase in contraception use globally.
Another 25 million pregnancies occur because women's contraception fails or they use it incorrectly.
According to the BKKBN, 61.4 percent, or 28.7 million, of Indonesian couples of childbearing age
have taken part in the family planning program, an increase from 500,000 in 1970.
The family planning program in the reform era has never been as large as that run during the New
Order regime.
Source URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/07/12/indonesia-faces-a-struggle-keep-birthrate-down.html