RI faces low quality population

Indonesia, home to 235 million people, remains the fourth most populated nation in the world after China, India and the United States this year, but the National Family Planning Board warns the big population will pose a security threat.

Chairman of the board Sugiri Syarief said on Wednesday the country was facing a big population with a low quality, which would burden not only the state but also the society.

In a country which adopts a national defense system which relies much on people like Indonesia, he said, quality population would be a valuable asset, but low quality population would pose a threat to national security.

The government, he said, has asked the board to revitalize the family planning program for fear of a baby boom, which would slow development programs and poverty eradication in the future.