Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced a new program to encourage population growth in Iran and to do away with a long-held family planning policy. He offered to set aside a special account for every newborn child to be used when the child reaches the age of 18.
Ahmadinejad said that those who support family planning live in the thinking of a secular world. The new policy is designed to double the current population size of 75 million to 150 million.
[At a 3% population increase per annum, the Iranian population could double in 24 years; at a 4% population increase, the population will double in 18 years. Ahmadinejad did not spell out a program for creating new jobs for this new generation of Iranians, let alone for twice as many new entrants into the labor market if his program is taken seriously.]
Source: Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, July 29, 2010
