Tehran, Iran, December 27
By Mehdi Sepahvand –- Trend:
Iran’s population has surpassed 80 million, a recent census has revealed, indicating the growth rate of the population is still on the rise.
Omid Ali Parsa, head of Iran Statistics Center, said that despite concerns about a falling population growth, a rate of 1.3 percent has been indicated by the census, Tasnim news agency reported December 26.
The center has previously predicted that if fertility rate reaches 1.3 percent, the population growth will turn negative between the years 2041 and 2046.
Alireza Zahedian, a senior official with the center, has also said a recent poll indicates that newly married couples believe in having several children.
He said that 60 percent of the couples would like to have two children, 14 percent would go for one, and 25 percent think of three or more. In the meantime, one percent do not consider having a baby at all.
Elsewhere, Zahedian said that a declining population growth will eventually lead the Pension Fund into bankruptcy.
The UN Population Fund last year predicted that by 2050, Iran’s population will reach 93 million, but then start to decline.
Official reports show since 2010, the number of marriages per year in Iran has decreased. Since three years ago, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been encouraging policies aimed at developing a population of 150 million.