Population: A Key Issues in Development Planning

Abstract

Sustainable development, Environment. Resources. Carrying capacity. These are some of the buzzwords that seem to be thrown around, and keep policy-makers and planners happy, both in the developed and developing countries of the world, as they often gather round Conference tables. Nevertheless, few politically independent nations of the developing world have addressed the issue of the relationship between environmental capacities and human resource capabilities, that would make possible the goals of sustainable development, that they aspire to achieve. It is unrealistic to discuss sustainable development, that they aspire to achieve. It is unrealistic to discuss sustainable development in any country without reference to population issues and socioeconomic constraints that impact on achieving national development. Population concerns are central to the search for sustainability. According to the latest United Nations figures, there are over 5.48 billion people in the worlds present, and by year 2000, the total world population will increase to 6.25 billion. The population of Asia at the end of 1991 was 3.3 billion, with the People's Republic of China accounting for 1.17 billion. This means that well over half of the total world population live in Asia. Coming closer to home, in the SAARC region, there was an estimated total population of 1.2 billion at the end of 1991, and, according to the latest UNFPA estimates, this region will have over 1.5 billion by the year 2000.