14
POPULATION CHANGES
BIRTH RATE
Indonesia’s population quadrupled in the last
80 years—from 60 million in 1930 to over
250 million in 2010. However, the rate of
growth is now slowing down as Indonesians
have fewer children. The average number of
children per mother used to be five; today
it is two. This is partly due to a widespread
change in people’s work, as fewer people are
farmers. In agriculture, big families were
desirable, as children could help on the farm.
The birth rate also is falling because of the
promotion of contraception in Indonesia,
which started in the 1960s. Owing to
improving health care in the country, more
children survive past infancy now. One
outcome of fewer children being born and
better health care is that Indonesians are
living longer, and the average age of the
population is increasing. More than 40
percent of Indonesians are ages 25–54.
URBANIZATION
In the 1950s, only 12 percent of
Indonesians lived in urban areas. Today that
number is over 50 percent. This massive
shift is due to a variety of factors. This
includes the availability of jobs, as the
steady growth of urban industries requires
more workers. Lower wages and poorer
standards of living in rural areas, as well
as a lack of farmland in villages, have also
contributed to Indonesia’s urbanization.
However, problems result from this trend.
At a national scale, Indonesia is struggling
to produce the food its people need as
there are fewer farmers. At an individual
scale, people living in overpopulated cities
can experience a shortage of housing and
cramped, polluted conditions.
An aerial view of the
sprawling city of Jakarta.
