Minister highlights Indonesia's population growth above global average

hartono · Apr 21, 2026

A screenshot of the Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (PPN/Bappenas) Rachmat Pambudy during the launch of the Country Programme Implementation Plan (CPIP) for the Indonesia-UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Cycle 11 Cooperation Program in Jakarta, Tuesday (April 21, 2026). ANTARA/Muhammad Baqir Idrus Alatas/rst

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (PPN/Bappenas), Rachmat Pambudy, said that Indonesia's population growth rate is above the global average.

"The world population is now over 8 billion, and Indonesia's population is over 280 million. If we follow the global population growth trend, we should only have 240 million. This means our population growth rate is above the global average. We must be careful," he said on Tuesday.

He conveyed this at the launch of the Country Programme Implementation Plan (CPIP) for the 11th Cycle of the Indonesia-UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Cooperation Program in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Under these conditions, Pambudy noted that Indonesia stands to gain a demographic bonus if its youth are properly managed.

Conversely, an aging population will experience a decline in productivity, he continued.

Therefore, he reminded all levels of government to address the issue of increasingly limited environmental carrying capacity as the population increases.

"If we study it, some disasters are not just natural disasters, but also human-caused disasters due to the pressure of our population. The larger the population, the more it requires water, food, and energy, ultimately exceeding the world's capacity to serve it. But, if only the world were managed fairly, it would actually be sufficient," he emphasized.

"When a disaster occurs, the first priority is the population. The most important people are babies, children, pregnant women, and teenage girls because teenage girls require different treatment than boys," the minister added.

In this context, he noted that cooperation between Indonesia and UNFPA is considered crucial to addressing these significant challenges.

"Indonesia aspires to realize the vision of a Golden Indonesia, and this effort must be assisted by strengthening the role of women in development and utilizing population data," Pambudy remarked.