|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 3 December 2003 |
 |
|
 |
News | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
by Nadira Gunatilleke Sri Lanka's replacement level fertility goal (2.1 children per woman) set in 1987 had been reached and the projected population for 2050 is 23.2 million. Sri Lanka is doing very well, Population Institute, USA President Werner Fornos said. Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday, Fornos said Sri Lanka's efforts to stabilise its population are on target, but whether or not the country stays on course would depend on the fertility decisions of an under-15 segment which represents 28 per cent of country's current population. If there is a need to be addressed, it revolves around the fact that 28 per cent of Sri Lankans are under the age of 15 and have not yet reached their reproductive years. It is their fertility decisions that will ultimately determine whether or not Sri Lanka stays on course and the country's population levels off by mid century, he added. Forons said continuing and even accelerating efforts to provide reproductive health and family planning education and information to adolescents is of vital importance, particularly in the area of male responsibility. Sri Lanka has long been considered a success story in terms of countries that are voluntarily reducing fertility in an effort to stabilise their population. In Sri Lanka contraceptive prevalence grew from 34 per cent in 1975 to 62 per cent in 1987 and today stands at 66 per cent. Population growth has dropped from 2.8 per cent per annum in the 1950s to 1.2 per cent today, he said. The Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka is the recipient of Institute's Country award for 2003. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
