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The
population
The
people
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Bali has a population of some
3,5 million, with an average density of around 550 inhabitants to the sq.
kilometre. The majority of the people belong to the Malayo-Polynesian
(Austronesian) family of peoples. They are often referred as the
Proto-Malays. Bali was originally occupied by nomadic peoples. A sharp
increase in population began about 3000 B.C. when some Chinese people left
their homeland and spread over South-East Asia.
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The population growth is held
down to about 22 per 1000 thanks to a birth control programme promoted by
the Indonesian government. The problem, however, is that in Balinese
society, it is essential to have a male descendant, mainly in order to
take over father's religious obligations. In consequence, the rapid growth
of the population continues, and within a foreseeable future, Bali will
become overpopulated and Balinese agriculture incapable of feeding the
population.
But another tendency is a drift
of population away from the island. An increasing number of people are
moving into Denpasar and tourist area's to seek fortune and earnings.
Recent years, the political
instability has caused other people from Java and Lombok to move to Bali.
This has been stimulated due to the political instability scince 1999 -
2001. |
The language.
There are more than 250 languages
spoken over the Indonesian continent. Balinese is one among them, and is mainly
spoken in Bali, and in western parts of the neighbouring island of Lombok. The
official language is bahasa Indonesia, and incorporates words of many other
languages. The influence of the Dutch occupation has left vestiges in the
Balinese and Bahasa Indonesian language.
For tourists, English is widely
spoken. Some elder people might even speak Dutch. Bahasa Indonesia is written in
the Latin alphabet.
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