Government perceptions of population growth

Summary This paper seeks to evaluate the extent to which the world's population is represented by governments that judge population growth largely in terms of their countries' socio-economic capacity to absorb such growth. The initial data base consists of 125 countries, representing approximately 94 per cent of the world's population, classified according to whether their governments perceive their rates of population growth as deficient, satisfactory or excessive. Using various socio-economic development indices, a crude attempt is made to assess linkages between government perceptions and absorptive capacity. Results lead to insights into why some governments perceive their population situation at variance with the popular tide of opinion about desirability of reducing population growth everywhere.