[This is official. Unofficial? perhaps a couple of month earlier<g>]--"China's population set to hit 1,3 billion"
January 03 2005 at 11:11AM
Beijing - The population in China, the world's most populous nation, will officially hit 1,3 billion this week, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on Monday, citing government figures.
The country's population has been close to 1,3 billion of the world's more than six billion people and has been rounded up to that figure in recent years.
But it will only officially reach that exact number by Thursday, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) calculations, Xinhua said.
State media credited the government's population-control policies over the past 30 years for delaying the date of arrival at the 1,3 billion figure by four years.
"However, the country would face new and severe challenges with its population climbing to the level of 1,3 billion," Xinhua quoted an official with the State Commission for Population and Family Planning saying.
The huge population is putting pressure on already insufficient natural resources and jobs.
It is expected to increase by about 10 million people annually to reach a peak of 1,46 billion in the mid-2030s, state media had quoted population experts saying last year.
iol.co.za |
