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PROCLAMATION 4299-JULY 9, 1974

Proclamation 4299

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2489 July 9, 1974

World Population Year, 1974

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation One of the most pressing challenges in the last third of the twentieth century is to find ways of meeting the basic needs of the world's burgeoning population. The causes of population growth are well known: death rates have been cut dramatically by welcome advances in medical science and health services while birth rates have not declined. As a result, according to estimates by the United Nations, some 80 million people will be added to the world's population this year and, if current trends continue, the world's total population of more than 3.8 billion could double by the first decade of the twenty-first century. While the causes are clear, the solutions are not. Many tough choices will have to be made. The United States has no interest in imposing solutions upon other countries, but it does seek to help in a way which maintains our traditional respect for human freedom and dignity. The concern of all nations should remain with the human and physical environment of all of our fellow men and in seeking together ways in which mankind can discover new paths to partnership and progress. As many of the developing countries have already discovered, it is urgent that acceptable solutions be found to this challenge. The United Nations has designated 1974 as World Population Year, and has called upon all governments and peoples to participate in its observance. In August of this year, the United Nations will convene a World Population Conference in Bucharest, Romania. The United States Government welcomes the declaration of World Population Year as an historic opportunity for all nations to study their own and world patterns of population growth and distribution. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD NIXON, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate and proclaim the year 1974 as World Population Year in the United States. I call upon the Congress and officials of our Federal, State and local governments, educational institutions, religious bodies, private organizations, the information media, and the people of the United States generally to join this

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