ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995            TAG: 9512280081
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-2  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press 

WORLD POPULATION UP 100 MILLION IT'S THE BIGGEST 1-YEAR JUMP YET

The world's population grew this year by 100 million people, to 5.75 billion, the largest increase ever, a population research group said Wednesday.

Ninety percent of the growth was in poor countries ``already terribly torn by civil strife and social unrest and where all too many people live in brutal poverty,'' said Werner Fornos of the Population Institute.

Fornos, giving the institute's ``1995 World Population Overview,'' told reporters effective birth control policies and practices could stabilize world population by 2015 at 8 billion. But unless family planning is promoted actively, he said, there could be an increase to as many as 14 billion people.

``Some 3 billion young people will be entering their reproductive years in this coming generation,'' Fornos said. ``How well these young people are able to implement the awesome responsibility of parenting ... will make the difference between our setting course for an environmental Armageddon in the 21st century or a better quality of life.''

The Population Institute receives no U.S. government money. Its funding comes from the United Nations, foundations and individuals.

To illustrate population growth in wealthy and poor countries, Fornos compared conditions in Iowa and the South Asian country Bangladesh, which have about the same area.

At present growth rates, Iowa will need a century to double its population of less than 3 million. But Fornos estimated that Bangladesh will double its 128 million people in less than 30 years.

Around the globe, he said, the people of 80 countries are reproducing at a rate to double their populations within those same 30 years or less. Of those, 43 are in Africa.

Fornos also found about 30 ``good news countries'' where the number of children being born in the average family has been declining.

``For instance, Mexico and Brazil in our hemisphere,'' he said. ``We've seen declines in Thailand, Indonesia. We've seen dramatic changes in Kenya and Zimbabwe.''

The biggest decline has been in China, with more than 1.2 billion people the world's most populous country. Fornos said the average Chinese woman in 1965 could expect to give birth to 6.5 live children in her lifetime. The figure now is 1.4, he said.

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