The World Plan of Action: Is China Already Setting the Pace?

Abstract

In a recent visit to the People's Republic of China, the author learned first-hand that its family planning program is making remarkable progress—not only in the large cities, but also, more slowly, in the rural areas where 80 per cent of China's population still lives. Since China is the world's most populous country, with some 800 million people, the author asks whether the goals and objectives set there may not provide useful guidance in formulating a world population policy. When the United Nations World Population Conference, 1974 is held in Bucharest, Romania, next August, hopefully the governments assembled will reach agreement on a World Plan of Action to deal with the problems of the population explosion, which are already threatening many developing countries. The author suggests that the nations of the world at this important Conference should acknowledge in their Plan, as China has, that the human race must stabilize world population as soon as possible, with a goal of reducing the present growth rate from 2 per cent to 1 per cent by the year 2000. Tables are included with projections of the world population to 2050 assuming a 50 per cent reduction in growth rate compared with the continuation of present rates.