Effects of Rapid Population Growth in Indonesia

Statistical evidence gathered by the World Bank indicates that Indonesia, along with other low and middle income South East Asian countries, is experiencing a steadily expanding population. The World Development Report calculates that Indonesia's population as of 1995 was just over 178 million (World Development Report, 1992, 218).

The average rate of population growth for Indonesia between 1980 and 1990 was 1.8 percent. Between 1990 and the year 2000, this percentage is projected to be 1.6 (World Development Report, 1992, 268). By comparison, Cambodia's percent of population growth in the same time periods are 2.6 and 1.9 percent. Cambodia's present population is calculated at 8.5 million. Myanmar's percents of population growth are respectively 2.1 and 2.0. Myanmar's current population is projected to be almost 42 million. Thailand's average percent of growth was 1.8 between 1980 and 1990, and is predicted to average 1.4 between 1990 and the year 2000. Thailand's present population is about 56 million (World Development Report, 1992, 218).

There are two main differences between Indonesia and other South East Asian countries. The first is a lack of arable land and the second is a fairly consistent political structure. Expansion of agriculture into Irian Jaya has helped address the lack of land which can be cultivated (Dutt, 1985, 108-111). President Suharto's planning realism since 1966 has kept Indonesia forw

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ditions. The draw of the city, and its mythic promise of better life is a common theme throughout the world (Fukuyama, 1995, 156). The draw of urban locations is termed the principle of circular and cumulative causation (Brunn & Williams, 1983, 23). It is a problematic result of strong urban economic centers creating overpopulation. Mexico City, Cairo, San Paulo, and perhaps Jakarta are examples of cities becoming dangerous concentrations of individuals ill-equipped to handle urban life. In Indonesia, on the main island of Java, ethnic diversity and the relative scarcity of well-paying jobs has caused problems. More than 60 percent of the 110 million people that inhabit Java are under 40. These individuals leave the village to go to the city, but the city is rejecting them because there are insufficient jobs, and the village is overburdened (McBeth, 1996, 22). These individuals represent a larger and larger proportion of the worlds population, whose repressed desires to share in the wealth of their nations economic centers can not be satisfied. The work simply does not exist. These urban centers merge with outlying areas, first becoming a megalopolis, then becoming a superconurbation (Brunn & Williams, 1983, 6). In Jakar
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1416
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)