KATHMANDU:  Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has urged citizens to marry on time and prioritize childbearing, warning that without balanced population growth, human existence could be at risk.

He made the remarks while unveiling the ‘National Population Policy 2025’ during an event organized by the Ministry of Health and Population to mark World Population Day.

Highlighting the need for population growth to align with national development, PM Oli stressed that individuals must treat their reproductive responsibilities as a duty to the Earth.

“Without people, there is no meaning to a country or the Earth,” he said. “We must adopt appropriate policies and take action to safeguard the existence and well-being of humanity.”

He criticized global contradictions, where countries hold seminars on population management but simultaneously develop weapons of mass destruction.

“Human existence cannot be preserved while hosting population conferences on one hand and creating mass killing tools on the other,” he warned. “We must not allow demographic imbalances to persist.”

The prime minister also emphasized the government’s legal provision allowing marriage only after the age of 20, and urged couples to bear children by the age of 30. “Don’t get distracted by songs suggesting to enjoy life after 40 with no children,” he said.

Expressing concern over declining birth rates in some developed countries, he noted that the campaign slogan ‘Let’s not say our children will cover the hills and mountains’ had unintentionally caused reduced fertility, putting human continuity at risk.

He concluded by stressing the need for effective implementation of the newly launched population policy to address these demographic challenges.