Agricultural population densities on Asia�s rice producing lands are among the highest in the world and continue to increase at a remarkable rate. Rapid population growth puts increasing pressure on the already strained food-producing resources. The aggregate population of the less developed countries grew from 2.3 billion in 1965 to 4.4 billion in 1995. Asia accounted for 60% of the global population, about 92% of the world�s rice production, and 90% of global rice consumption. Even with rice providing 35�80% of the total calories consumed in Asia and with a slowing of growth in total rice area, rice production more than kept up with demand in 2000. The largest producing countries�China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Thailand �together account for more than three quarters of world rice production.
The world�s annual rough rice production, however, will have to increase markedly over the next 30 years to keep up with population growth and income-induced demand for food.