World Population Day 2019 | Observed on July 11 every year, World Population Day seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. It was announced by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.
The day was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, the approximate date on which the world's population reached five billion people.
According to the UN, every year approximately 83 million people are added to the world's population and by 2030, the world population is expected to reach the 8.6 billion mark.
With depleting natural resources, it is impertinent that careful management of population becomes a standard protocol so as to not exhaust the resources available. As such, there are countries who have developed population policies to combat the explosion. Here are a few examples:
China: The country put the infamous 'one child per family' policy in place in 1979 to try and get its population growth in check. The policy dictates that people with more than one ward be fined. This has led to a shortage of young people in the country. China relaxed the policy in 2015 to allow two children to a couple. The current government is thinking of relaxing the law even further.
India: Set to overtake China’s population by 2045, a population control bill seeking a two-child policy in 2017 was tabled, but it is yet to pass. While activists had approached the apex court for a swift resolution, the pleas were dismissed in 2018.
Pakistan: A country that saw a population explosion between 1951 and 2009, Pakistan introduced the National Population Policy in 2010, which aims to bring down the nation's fertility rate to 2.1 births per woman by 2025.
South Korea: In sharp contrast to others, a study by the National Assembly Research Service in Seoul, South Korea, found that with continuous dipping fertility rates, native South Koreans will go extinct by 2750. The government has, since then, turned to several pro-nationalist policies to encourage birth of more children, including cash payouts to couples to have babies.
United States: The US has been a known supporter of the Program of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which endorses choice of the timing and number of children. While the government does not officially endorse population control, it provides better healthcare system for women and the freedom of women to exercise their reproductive rights.
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