Bali’s Booming Population

(12/24/2012)

The Bali Daily (The Jakarta Post) reports that Bali’s population is growing at an alarming rate.

The latest population totals from the provincial authorities show 4.22 million people living on Bali, an increase of 8% from the 3.89 million reported just two years ago.

Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika says: “Currently, the island’s population has reached 4.22 million. This is a remarkable increase. I’m sure that it is not only due to the birth rate, but also urbanization. Many people move to Bali because of its promising economy.”

In the ten years 2000-2010 Bali’s population grew from 3.15 million to 3.89 million – an average annual increase of 2.15%.

In the preceding four decades the island’s annual rate of population growth had never exceeded 2%.

In terms of population density, Bali now stands at 673 people per square kilometer making the island quite crowded in comparison to the national average of 124 people per square kilometer.

Fearing the indigenous Balinese are becoming increasingly marginalized in their own homeland, Pastika continued: “Our economy keeps growing. At least this indicates that we are improving, although we agree that we need to further minimize the economic gap existing between the island’s different areas.”