Makassar (Antara Bali) - Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said rapid population growth may hamper national development and therefore, the government must address it more seriously.
"If the population problem is not handled quickly and we are not prepared for it in many things, it will obviously have a fatal impact," he said at a national seminar here on Saturday.
Population is a basic asset to implement development. However, uncontrolled population growth may pose a burden to spur economic growth, he said.
Indonesia now has a population of about 220 million with an annual population growth rate of 1.175 percent, making it the world's fourth most populous nation after China, India and the United States, he said.
With the rapid population growth, the Indonesian population may increase to 247.5 million in 2015 and 273 million in 2025, he said.
"This is a huge figure and therefore, once again I need to remind the government to pay serious attention to the matter so the population will not increase drastically," he said.
The rapid population growth poses a great challenge to meet basic necessities, including clothes, foods and homes, not to mention good education and health services, he said.
Therefore, he added the country must tightly implement the family planning program as it did two to three decades ago. (*/DWA)
