World population: a major issue for the millennium
Haub, C.
Global Issues 3(2): 17-19
1998
PMID: 12322267 Document Number: 295009
The continuous increase in population poses a major problem in the coming millennium. Despite efforts exerted in contraceptive information dissemination, there are still some facts that cannot be denied. Although some couples in developing countries want to limit their family size, there are others who have refused to use family planning because of tradition and cultural factors. To address this problem, demographers are finding ways to limit the population explosion to "replacement level fertility". Most of the population growth occurs in developing countries, where family size exceeds the minimum replacement level requirement. A future zero population growth level is the only hope. This seems a distant dream, but a possible one, depending on whether simple replacement level is achieved. Failure to achieve this level will mean that the population will continue to grow.