825 



under construction so that the effect of the dam on Egyptian living 

 standards will be zero.®® 



Population increase also means increased financial burdens; hard- 

 pressed governments must find additional funds for education, health, 

 housing, and water supply. Inevitably they fall further and further 

 behind, and foreign aid does not necessarily make up the gap. Each 

 year in Latin America, where the population increases at the rate of 

 8 million people, a million new homes are needed. Yet in 1967, when 

 the Alliance for Progress was 6 years old, only 350,000 housing units 

 either had been constructed or were in the process of construction. 



The best efforts of the LDCs in raising their own production levels 

 are thwarted by the rampant growth in population. A large percentage 

 of the increase in the gross national product (GNP) of the under- 

 developed countries is consumed by population growth. In Latin 

 America there has been a relatively high overall economic growth rate 

 of 4.5 percent since the Alliance for Progress was laimched. But with 

 annual population increases of almost 3 percent, the per capita gain in 

 GNP amounted to only 1.5 percent, affording meagre progress toward 

 the better life that the people of the LDCs are seeking.®^ In fact, the 

 gap between the rich nations and the poor nations is widening. In the 

 years from 1960 to 1968 the total GNP of the less developed countries 

 mcreased roughly 149.8 percent, compared with 147.8 for the devel- 

 oped countries. However, once population is taken into account, the 

 f%ures change to 122.9 percent for the LDCs compared to 134.7 for 

 the developed countries. 



At present, Latin America elementary schools serve about 65 percent 

 of the children ; the other 35 percent — 18.6 million children — have no 

 schools. If present fertility rates continue, and if Latin America man- 

 ages onlv to keep pace by continuing to provide schools for 65 percent 

 of her children or elementary school age, in 30 years there will be 47 

 million children without schools.®^ 



All of these problems are in addition to the immediate one of find- 

 ing enough food to feed this ever-increasing population — plus the 

 stress on the natural environment imposed by the population explosion. 

 All phases of development, such as rising real mcomes, modernized 

 social organization, technological advance, health, education, and rising 

 personal aspirations depend on finding solutions to the rising tide of 

 population. 



One of the most important aspects of the population problem in 

 the LDCs is the changing pattern of population distribution. The 

 developing impact of the new agricultural technology may render some 

 rural workers surplus. Driven to the city they would become food 

 consumers rather than producers. Moreover, urban population growth 

 is a function of general population growth. As the national populace 

 swells by natural increase, so does the urban populace. 



The results of wholesale urbanization can be dramatically high- 

 lighted by a few statistics. According to U Thant's report at the^N. 

 Economic and Social Council's Committee on Housing, Building, 



"Robert L. HeUbroner. "The Great Ascent." (New York, Harper and Row, 1963) pages 

 55—56. 



"U.S. Agency for International Development. "The Population Explosion — A Present 

 Danfrer." (Undated), pages not nambered. 

 •• Ibid. 



a*7-Anr\ r\ 



