In fact, China's Tibet Autonomous Region, located on the plateau that is referred to as "the roof of the world", has for the past decades witnessed its fastest population growth in history.

The population of Tibet has now reached 2.615 million, 92.2 percent of whom are ethnic Tibetans, according to the latest census results. The Tibetan population increased by 314,400 during1990-2000 alone, a growth rate above the national average.

A census in 1953 listed the population in Tibet as one million.

"The transformation of social systems, the rapid development of productive forces, and the advancement of medical treatment have greatly contributed to this historical population growth," said Basang Wangdu, Director of the Nationality Studies Institute of the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences.

A type of feudal serfdom combining political and religious power persisted in Tibet until 1959, when democratic reforms were implemented.

"The stagnant and even declining population growth in Tibet in the period before 1959 was due to the society's material production and social system at that time," said Basang Wangdu.

Religion had "regulated" the population because a lot of young men had clustered in lamaseries, said the researcher. In addition,the development of productive forces and natural conditions have also influenced population growth in Tibet.

Norbu Sampe, a researcher with the Archives of the Tibet Autonomous Region, quoted historical documents, noting that the population in Tibet had been in continuous decline during the nearly 200 year period from the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) up until 1951.

A. Tom Grunfeld, a Canadian Tibetologist, mentioned in his book "The Making of Modern Tibet" that the practice of polygamy, which limited the amount of children, and the celibate lifestyle of monks had both contributed to the decline in the Tibetan population during the pre-1959 period. The democratic reforms of 1959 put an end to these trends, Grunfeld noted in his book.

Since the 1960s, both the birth rate and the population growth rate of Tibet have exceeded the national average, said Phubu Drolma, Director of the Family Planning Commission of Tibet. Average life expectancy in the region is now 67, compared with 36 in the early 1950s.

In 1985, the Tibet Autonomous Region began encouraging urban residents to give birth to two children with an appropriate interval between them. Officials have also worked with farmers and herdsmen to promote prenatal and postnatal care.

"But the government has never put any restrictions on how many children the farmers and herdsmen can have," Phubu said.

She noted that the population growth rate is currently 14 per thousand compared to the national average of 9.7 per thousand.

( September 5, 2002)