Today is World Population Day:

Prof. S. T. Hettige

Everyone counts

by Indunil THENUWARA

Every hour, every minute, every second, hundreds of babies are born somewhere around the world. The global population grows by leaps and bounds and the population explosion is a reality for the whole world except in a few countries which report negative population growth.

But the resources required for this massive population are not increasing; in fact, they are dwindling. Thus, the population explosion and the resultant sharing of limited resources among a larger number of people have posed many problems such as poverty, hunger and even wars.

This places an increasing burden on Planet Earth with threats to the ecosystem, atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming and pollution becoming more real and immediate.

That is why, as the World Population Day, spearheaded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is celebrated on July 11 (today) it is important to discuss and decide on population issues. They are so severe that the issue has been compared to a ticking time bomb. It’s assumed that humans will soon run out of the resources that are needed to sustain themselves.

According to Senior Professor of Sociology of the University of Colombo, S. T. Hettige, Sri Lanka’s population is no longer rising and has now more or less stabilised.

This fact has been confirmed by the Census and Statistics Department as well. Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s birth and death rates remained high until the mid-40s. From the 40s to the early 60s, falling death and almost stable birth rates were noted while a steady decline in fertility was witnessed around the 60s, narrowing the gap between birth and death rates.

The last census conducted in Sri Lanka in 2001 put the local population around 19 million. However, the population as at 2009 stood at 20,450,000 and is expected to reach 21.5 million in 2015.

A more pressing issue in the island, according to Prof. Hettige, is the temporary migration of Sri Lankans, in search of lucrative employment opportunities, to other parts of the world. Currently, around 2.5 million Sri Lankans are residing outside their country of birth.

This exodus has had an impact on labour, he said, with the population at a stable point and the working population migrating from the country. Sectors such as agriculture and industry have faced the consequences, with wages going up and Sri Lanka losing its competitive edge in the international market.

“We had a competitive edge over countries in the region during the 1976/77 era, but now, we are less competitive and less productive than India, China, Bangladesh or Nepal,” the Professor said.

He said: “It’s good that our population has stabilised, considering that Sri Lanka has one of the highest population densities in the region. As a result of increased population, the pressure on land, housing and other resources has increased by leaps and bounds. Increasing examples of the human-elephant conflict are just one of the results of these developments.”

Another concern, according to him, is the ageing population in the country. “The proportion of over-60s stand at around 11 percent at the moment and would increase in future.

However, this need not be a big issue as most of them will continue to be active, with a prolonged working life, and looking after them won’t necessarily be the responsibility of the State. The ageing population may be a panic inducing situation only in countries with a universal social security system, but this is not the case in Sri Lanka.

“Here, most elderly people continue to work. Even those who are not, are looked after by their families or charities. They are not a burden to society or to the State and this situation is not likely to change much in the future”.

However, Prof. Hettige stressed the need for more investments in the area of social infrastructure.

“First of all, the ageing population would need direct cash transfers such as pension, EPF etc. Then there is a need for social infrastructure such as a good public transport system, food security, health sector, a proper garbage disposal system, cleaner environment and leisure facilities.

Such systems are in place in all developing countries and also most countries in the South East Asian region. The Government has to focus on them as a priority area to cater to the vulnerable and physically weak segments of our population. There is also a need to strengthen our family network, to support children, the elderly, sick and disabled.”

Prof. Hettige emphasised that economic development has to incorporate human resource development as well as technological advancements for such development to be really effective and meaningful to the population.

World Population Day was inaugurated by the UNFPA in 1988 to mark July 11, 1987, when the global population reached five billion. The day focuses attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, particularly in the context of overall development plans and programs and the need to find solutions to these issues.

The UNFPA is a development agency which deals with population issues and promotes the right of every man, woman and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. It extends its support to countries to use their population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of their people. The agency decides the annual theme for the event.

This year’s theme is ‘Everyone Counts’ and highlights the importance of data for development. It will focus on how reliable data makes a difference with the key being to collect, analyse and disseminate data in such a way that results in good decision-making.

The growing population - global figures

According to statistics released by the US Census Bureau, the global population stood at 6,825,300,000 as of June 5, 2010, having surpassed the 6.8 billion mark in 2009. Between 2040-2050, the population is expected to reach a figure of nine billion.

The fastest population growth rate was reported in the 50s, at 1.8 percent per year, reaching a peak of 2.2 percent in 1963. However, this growth rate has halved to 1.1 percent by 2009 with the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa being exceptions.

The world saw annual births numbering 134 million, which reached a peak of 163 million in the late 90s. It's expected to remain at a constant for a while. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook for 2007, the world population increased by 211,090 every day. Meanwhile, the number of deaths per year stand around 57 million and is expected to grow to about 90 million by 2050.

Asia is home to about 60 percent of this global population (3.8 billion) with China and India contributing to 40 percent between themselves. It's followed by Africa with 840 million (12 percent), Europe 716 million (11 percent), North America 514 million (eight percent), South America 371 million (5.3 percent) and Australia 21 million (0.3 percent).