A family view of population questions

To relate family situations to the population problem, viewing family decisions as one of the ultimate determinants of how many people there are on the globe and how rapidly the total population will increase, is proposed as a way of viewing the population problem of the world. Population problems of the developed countries with a growth rate of 1% or less per annum are different from those of the countries with a high growth rate and which have about 45-50% of the population below age 15. This group of young people, plus older people who no longer contribute to productive activity, form the dependency burden on a country. Some sociological and economic variables that affect family size decisions are discussed, and the importance of really understanding these variables in order to formulate better population policies is stressed.