Close-up of a young mother who had decided, with her husband, to limit their family to two children. - - Rural Life and Population Pressure. In the late 1960s the population of Indonesia was approximately 110,000,000, with nearly two-thirds living on Java and the nearby island of Madura. More than 85% of the people are still agrarian, many living on or just above subsistence level and with a life expectancy of some 32 years. Population pressure is at its most extreme on Java and an outlet of colonization into sparsely populated islands, particularly nearby Sumatra, is being encouraged by the Government. These efforts are being assisted by the UNDP (FAO) and the UN/FAO World Food Programme which is supplying food to the new settlers until they can harvest their first crops. The other way in which the Government is tackling the population problem is through the introduction of family planning information and advice - usually brought to the people by extension workers at child-care centres and with UN assistance - this time from the Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).