| Abstract: | Like most developing nations, Indonesia is facing a serious population problem. According to statistics, Indonesia has a population of 147,490,298, the fifth largest in the world. The distribution of its population, however, is rather out of balance. For example, the island of Java has an area which constitutes 6.89% of the entire country, but the population of this island is about 61.9% of the country's total. In other areas of the country, population density is low. In the overpopulated areas, there is a surplus of labor. In the areas where the population is scarce, there is a shortage of labor. Because of this situation, the land and natural resources in Indonesia cannot be fully utilized. The Indonesia government is becoming increasingly interested in internal migration in order to solve the population problem and revive the national economy. A series of measures has been taken to redistribute the internal population. First of all, individuals and their families who accept internal migration are entitled to economic benefits in land selection, housing, a food and seed supply, and tax exemptions. With the establishment of migration centers, economic development, expansion of arable land, factories, and construction of roads and development of transportation, the newly developed areas may eventually become administrative units under a province or county. Government offices are being established to handle special problems of migrants. The government is taking care of the migrants' needs in education, medicine and health care, and banking and loans. The measures have been helpful to encourage internal migration and reduce the imbalance of the population distribution, but they have proved to be insufficient. The Indonesian government has realized that birth control is a necessary measure to be taken in order to solve the population problem. |
