The reason for rapid population growth

Statistics show that rapid population growth creates problems for developing countries. So why don’t people have fewer children? Statistics from the developed countries suggest that it is only when people’s living standards begin to rise that birth rates begin to fall. There are good reasons for this. Poor countries cannot afford social services and old age pensions, and people’s incomes are so low they have nothing to spare for savings. As a result, people look to their children to provide them with security in their old age. Having a large family can be a form of insurance. And even while they are still quite young, children can do a lot of useful jobs on a small farm. So poor people in a developing country will need to see clear signs of much better conditions ahead before they can think of having smaller families. But their conditions cannot be improved unless there is a reduction in the rate at which population is increasing. This will depend on a very much wider acceptance of family planning and this, in turn, will mean basic changes in attitudes.