Population estimated at 199.7m

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's population at the start of 1997 was officially estimated at 199.7 million, the National Family Planning Board said yesterday.

Board chairman Haryono Suyono said in a statement that this is an impressive achievement, considering that before Indonesia launched the family planning campaign in 1969, experts had predicted the population would reach 280 million by the turn of the century.

The population will increase by the 300,000 needed to top 200 million some time in early February, Haryono said.

The figure came from the United Nations' low-to medium estimates for Indonesia, he said.

Since 1969 the average number of children in an Indonesian family has dropped from six to 2.6. In the same time, the infant mortality rate has plummeted from 145 in every 1,000 births to between 50 and 55, he said.

Indonesia ranks fourth largest in the world in terms of population, according to UN estimates, after China (1.249 billion), India (953 million) and the United States (263.6 million). (emb)