Did you know?
Number of international migrants worldwide and as a share of the global population, 1990-2024 The number of international migrants worldwide is estimated by the United Nations in 304 million in … Read more
population
How will two billion more people affect food, water, energy, and CO2?
David Lam looks at the resource impact of the projected 2.1 billion increase in world population by 2084. He concludes that population change will increase demand for food and water, … Read more
Introducing child benefits in pension systems: rationale, pros and cons
Child benefits are never explicitly included in pension systems, although mothers often receive other forms of compensation, such as provisions for earlier retirement or higher pensions. There are good reasons … Read more
Threshold ages and automatic adjustment mechanisms in PAYGO pension systems
Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension systems are problematic: commitments are meant to be long term, but reality changes rapidly, which forces a frequent revision of rules. Gustavo De Santis suggests an alternative … Read more
Overpopulation hitting the poorest as family planning remains contentious in Nigeria
Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and the largest Black demographic in the world. If current trends continue, the country is projected to become the third most populous … Read more
The countries most at risk of population collapse
Is the Earth over or under populated? For many decades the Earth’s population has grown astronomically but as the growth rate slows and eventually started to decline, could it be … Read more
8 billion strong – infinite possibilities for people and planet
Our world is approaching a landmark moment in human history. On 15 November 2022, the global population is projected to reach 8 billion people. Thanks to science, technology, and groundbreaking … Read more
Fewer and later births in South Korea, especially among more educated women
With a total fertility rate of 0.81 in 2021, South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world. Within a generally declining trend, and very low levels globally, Jolene … Read more
A tendency towards attenuation of regional sex ratio imbalances in China
Through a detailed analysis of the dynamics of regional sex ratios at birth and, separately, at prime marriageable ages in China, Wanru Xiong finds that regional sex ratios tend to … Read more
Urban survival advantage in low- and middle-income countries: do children fare better than adults?
In low- and middle-income countries, children survive better in urban than in rural areas. However, Ashira Menashe-Orenand and Bruno Masquelier find that this is not necessarily the case amongst adults, … Read more
Did you know?
The share of Europe’s population in the world is shrinking and by 2070 it will account for just under 4% of the world’s population. Source: European Commission Report on the … Read more
Han Chinese population shares in Tibet: early insights from the 2020 census of China
The early results of the 2020 Census of the People’s Republic of China shed light on the highly politicised issue of Han Chinese population shares in the Tibetan areas of … Read more
Could We Control Human OVER Population?
Experts estimate that by 2050 there could be 10 billion humans on earth. With human population growing so rapidly could we control population growth in the future? BBC Earth Lab
Are demographic indicators really converging in post transitional countries?
After the demographic transition, convergence in all demographic behaviours (moderate fertility, low mortality and very low migration) is the guiding assumption of the UN World Population Prospects Revisions. Maria Castiglioni, … Read more
Socioeconomic differences in life satisfaction and longevity in Spain
Aïda Solé-Auró and Mariona Lozano present data on “satisfied life expectancy” by gender and educational level in Spain. One of their somewhat paradoxical findings is that even though Spaniards are … Read more
Foreign Born Population in the U S (1850 to 2019)
This Dynamic Graph Shows the Foreign population of the United States by country of birth from 1850 to 2019. Foreign born refers to people residing in the USA who were … Read more
The spatial integration of immigrants in Europe
Working on 1,396 sub-regional areal units, Daniel T. Lichter, Domenico Parisi, and Shrinidhi Ambinakudige show that in almost all European countries, immigrants from outside Europe are less spatially integrated with … Read more
Markedly lower child mortality in Malawi and Uganda with more educated mothers
Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys, Liliana Andriano and Christiaan Monden show that, everything else equal, each additional year of maternal schooling reduces children’s probability of dying before age … Read more
Demography and development in the maze of Indian districts
A striking contrast in demographic and development indicators emerges from a recent analysis of the 640 districts of India, which Sanjay K. Mohanty, Udaya S. Mishra, Rajesh K. Chauhan and … Read more
L’Europe de l’Est se dépeuple
François Beaudonnet a enquêté cette semaine sur une phénomène européen dont personne ne parle: l’hémorragie démographique. Des centaines de milliers de jeunes des pays de l’Est ont quitté leur terre … Read more
Modernizing the census in Europe: traditional and new methods for the 2020 round
For the 2020 census round, Paolo Valente informs us that two-thirds of European countries plan to increase efficiency by using methods other than the traditional census based on paper questionnaires. Registers will … Read more
Four compelling reasons to fear population growth
Following on from last week’s article, Massimo Livi Bacci details four specific threats to human survival (or, at least, quality of survival) that are directly linked to population growth. Four … Read more
Malthus, forever?
Malthus is long dead, but his ideas live on and are still widely debated today. Massimo Livi Bacci argues that he was probably right, after all. Malthus and the limits … Read more
Population mobility in the twenty-first century: trends, conflicts, and policies
Population movements have changed radically in recent times, both in quantity and quality: “traditional” (economic) international migration is now accompanied by new types of mobility (refugees and displaced persons) caused … Read more
The Union and the study of population: 1947-1994
In the 90 years since its foundation in 1928, the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), or simply the Union, has been very active in the field … Read more
Even in Europe: population growth and climate change
Proving many experts’ forecasts wrong, large parts of Europe are witnessing population growth rather than stability or decline. Hannes Weber notes that this is having detrimental effects on the environment … Read more
Do adults in urban sub-Saharan Africa experience lower mortality?
Today, urban health conditions are often assumed to be universally superior to those of the rural sector. However, as Ashira Menashe-Oren and Guy Stecklov show, while child mortality is higher … Read more
Internal migration and spatial de-concentration of population in Latin America
Little is known about the details of migration across the urban hierarchy in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Building on their recent work, Jorge Rodriguez Vignoli and Francisco Rowe … Read more
Thinking about the future: the four billion question
The “population question”, central to the debate about humankind’s future since the 18th century, has slipped away from center stage and fallen into a coma in recent years. The international … Read more
Global population, development aspirations and fallacies
The debate in this forum between Lam (2017) and Grossman (2017) concerning the outlook for the world’s next four billion people is opportune. Both essays highlight critical issues and make … Read more
The world in which the next 4 billion people will live
I was pleased to read Professor David Lam’s N-IUSSP essay “The world’s next 4 billion people will differ from the previous 4 billion” (Lam 2017). He outlines past, present and … Read more
Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained
In a very short amount of time the human population exploded and is still growing very fast. Will this lead to the end of our civilization?
Migration reduces climate risk for many but not for all
As the consequences of climate change accumulate, many experts expect to see migration away from the world’s most impacted regions as people seek a climate and an economy that better … Read more
Immigrant receptivity and local area unemployment in the U.S.
Recent political events in many countries have made it clear that the receptivity of immigrants by destination area citizens is a contentious issue. Natives in arrival countries have demonstrated both … Read more
The world’s next 4 billion people will differ from the previous 4 billion
When the world population reached 7 billion in 2011, it marked the amazing addition of 4 billion people in just over 50 years, the world having attained the 3 billion … Read more
Think race and ethnicity are permanent? Think again
Add something else to the list of things that seem simple but are actually complicated – the way someone reports their race or ethnicity. In a recently-published research article (Liebler … Read more
Global trends 2016: 5 Facts about people forced to flee
UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report says an unprecedented 65.6 million people were uprooted from their homes by conflict and persecution at the end of 2016. Here are 5 key facts … Read more
ISIS genocide of the Yazidi religious minority of Sinjar, Iraq
A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry has determined that ISIS acts against the Yazidi religious minority of Sinjar constitute a case of ongoing genocide (OHCR 2016). While ISIS’s intent … Read more
Did you know?
More than 9 out of 10 people do not think that the world is getting better. Nevertheless, it does not fit with the empirical evidence.
How comparable are self-reported health data on the older population in Europe?
Europe has large projected increases in the proportion of older people in the population (United Nations 2013). Therefore, high quality, representative longitudinal data on the older European population are essential … Read more
The Population Cliff ! What are the Solutions
July 11 is World Population Day, as designated by the UN. It was established on the occasion of the global population exceeding the 5 billion mark, to raise awareness of … Read more
Did you know?
More than 80% of people living in urban areas (that monitor air pollution) are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) limits. While all regions … Read more
Did you know?
The global population of forcibly displaced people has increased substantially in the past two decades, rising from 37.3 million in 1996 to 65.3 million in 2015. “We are facing the … Read more
Strong growth projected for Australia’s Indigenous population
Australia’s Indigenous population Australia’s Indigenous population consists of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal peoples are estimated to have settled the Australian continent approximately 50,000 years agowhilst the … Read more
Human Population through time
It took 200,000 years for our human population to reach 1 billion—and only 200 years to reach 7 billion. But growth has begun slowing, as women have fewer babies on … Read more
Are population policies effective?
Let us look at four types of objective that can legitimize population policies in a given context: reducing mortality (Vallin et Meslé, 2006), limiting fertility if the population is growing … Read more
What stops parents from having a second child?
Parents of one child are commonly confronted by the first child’s persistent pleas for a little brother or sister. However, they might be skeptical about satisfying their child’s request because … Read more
Did you know?
Two thirds of the world’s older persons live in the developing regions and their numbers are growing faster there than in the developed regions. World Population Ageing Report
Demographic data are inadequate for many older Africans
Why do we need better data on older people? To accurately understand population change – its scale, speed, determinants and variants – we need accurate data on the age of … Read more
The shrinking population of Europe, ageing and productivity
Europe’s population is bound to shrink before 2050: according to the latest revision (2015, medium variant) of the UN (2015) projections, it will decline by 4.5% (31 million) between 2015 … Read more
Loneliness among seniors in Europe. Far higher risk in the East
Loneliness is widely perceived as a problem of old age, as part of “normal” aging. Research shows, however, that only 5 to 15% of adults aged 60–80 report frequent feelings … Read more
China after the one-child policy: parents bereaved of their only child
In 1980, China launched its national one-child policy, in response to both a huge concern about the prospects of rapid population growth impacting on resources and a desire to increase … Read more
World population growth
Watch human population grow from 1 CE to present and see projected growth in under six minutes. One dot = 1 million people.
The risk of misrepresenting the demographic dividend
It is heartening to see the renewal of interest in demography by at least some African governments. A share of the credit for this can be attributed to the discourse … Read more
Do we need a population policy?
From the writings of Plato (4th century BCE) on the population of the ideal Greek city, to the famous precept of Jean Bodin (1576) “the only wealth is man”, the … Read more
2060 and the world population pyramid | The Economist
The World in 2015: Global population and the changing shape of world demographics
The Merry-go-round of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
Advocacy is a funny thing. If you feel strongly enough about a cause, as everyone in international development does these days, it is no longer enough to campaign for something … Read more
The United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development
The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit was held in New York on 25-27 September 2015. The 193-member UN General Assembly formally adopted the ambitious agenda “Transforming Our World: 2030 Agenda … Read more
The population of Sri Lanka in transition: policy stance
The present world population of 7.3 billion is projected to increase to 8.5 billion or more by 2030, with almost 90 percent of the increase occurring in the developing countries, … Read more
Faut-il une politique de population ?
Toutes les sociétés humaines se sont efforcées d’influer sur la taille ou la composition de la population. Des écrits de Platon sur la population que devait comporter la cité grecque … Read more