Population: The Critical Decade

Abstract

World population is growing by 1 billion people every 11 years. The decade of the 1990s presents the last chance to stabilize human populations by the middle of the 21st century through humane and voluntary measures at something less than double the current world population of 5.4 billion. At the 1984 UN International Conference on Population (held in Mexico City) the official delegation of the US presented a White House-drafted statement that declared population growth a neutral phenomenon and labeled government policies to deal with it an overreaction. The US policy reversal at Mexico City was followed later in 1984 by a decision to end 17 years of US support for the International Planned Parenthood Federation and then in 1986 by the withdrawal of all support from the UN Population Fund. More than 95% of future growth will occur in the developing countries of Africa Asia and Latin America. The majority of developing countries outside of East Asia still have annual population growth rates of between 2.5 and 3.5%. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that without major conservation efforts developing countries could experience an almost 30% decline in agricultural productivity by the end of the next century when their populations may have increased 4- to 6-fold. In sub-Saharan Africa with food production growing at 2% and population growing at 3% per capita food production has dropped 15-20% since 1970. In the Asian and Latin American countries the number of current and prospective contraceptive users is approaching an average 75% of fertile-age couples. For most developing countries including Colombia Mexico South Korea. Thailand and Tunisia organized family planning programs have accounted for 40-50% of the fertility decreases to date according to regression analysis. In the fall of 1991 when a new foreign aid authorization could not be passed 58% of Americans wanted the US government to resume support of the UN Population Fund.