50 Million Announced Forty Years Ago 100 Million Mexicans… Only

1% in 2000. Although the objective was far from being reached (the current rate being close to 2%), in 2000 Mexico had 53 million inhabitants fewer than it would have had if fertility had remained at its 1970 level. The population pyramids of 1930, 1970 and 2000 clearly illustrate this dynamics (Figure 2). In 1930 the population was beginning to recover from the aftereffects of the Revolution and did not exceed 16.5 million inhabitants. It was multiplied by three in 1970 with 48.3 million inhabitants, half of whom were under the age of 15, whereas in 2000 when the population was approaching the 100 million mark (98.9) the fertility decline manifestly contributed to diminishing the proportion of young people. From 1970 to 2000, the dependency ratio (the ratio between the number of people of working POPU TION SOCIÉTÉS &