Fertility Declining in the Middle East and North Africa
Population growth of the mainly Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa has been slowed by a veritable revolution in marriage and childbearing in recent decades. While a young population structure ensures momentum for future growth, the pace has slackened thanks to fertility declines in some of the region’s largest countries. (April 2008)

2007 World Population Data Sheet Webcast
PRB's 2007 World Population Data Sheet was released at a press briefing at the National Press Club, in Washington, DC, on Aug. 16, 2007. This year's theme: "Malnutrition Is a Major Contributor to Child Deaths." (August 2007)

World Population Highlights: Key Findings From PRB's 2007 World Population Data Sheet (PDF: 945KB)

 This Population Bulletin is the companion report to PRB's 2007 World Population Data Sheet. The Bulletin highlights key findings from the data sheet on: world population trends, malnutrition, environment, HIV/AIDS, urbanization, and migration. (BUL62.3, September 2007)

World Population Highlights 2007: Environment
Carbon dioxide emissions have grown dramatically in the past century because of human activity, chiefly the use of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, as well as changes in land use such as cutting down forests. These emissions are a key contributor to climate change that is expected to produce rising temperatures, lead to more extreme weather patterns, facilitate the spread of infectious diseases, and put more stress on the environment. This article is excerpted from the Population Bulletin: "World Population Highlights: Key Findings From PRB's 2007 World Population Data Sheet." (September 2007)

2007 World Population Data Sheet

 PRB's 2007 World Population Data Sheet contains the latest population estimates, projections, and other key indicators for more than 200 countries, including births, deaths, natural increase, infant mortality, life expectancy, urban population, HIV/AIDS prevalence, contraceptive use, GNI PPP per capita, and population per square kilometer. New for the 2007 Data Sheet are data on percent of children under age 5 underweight, carbon dioxide emissions per capita, and percent of natural habitat remaining. (2007)

World Population Highlights 2007: Migration
In 2005, about 191 million people, or 3 percent of the world's population, were international migrants, according to UN estimates. Migration continues to be an important determinant of the size and characteristics of populations in some countries and especially in certain areas within countries. Between 1995 and 2000, around 206 million migrants per year moved from less developed to more developed regions. More than one-half of these settled in the United States and Canada. This article is excerpted from the Population Bulletin: "World Population Highlights: Key Findings From PRB's 2007 World Population Data Sheet." (September 2007)

Egypt Bans Female Genital Cutting
The Egyptian Health Ministry issued a decree on June 28, 2007, that officially banned female circumcision. Although a similar order was already in place to prevent hospitals and medical doctors from carrying out the procedure, it is still widely performed by nonprofessionals in the community. (July 2007)

Challenges and Opportunities—The Population of the Middle East and North Africa

 This Population Bulletin looks at recent demographic trends in the Middle East and North Africa and how they interact with social and economic forces of change. It shows how this high-profile region is being transformed by mortality and fertility declines and a veritable revolution in marriage patterns and family planning use. The Bulletin  also considers the effects of immigration and refugee movements on the labor force as well as on the age and sex composition of country populations. (BUL62.2; June 2007)

Youth in the Middle East and North Africa: Demographic Opportunity or Challenge?

 Despite oil resources and major improvements in health and education, the Middle East and North Africa region is not meeting the changing needs of its rapidly growing young population. This policy brief gives an overview of demographic trends among MENA youth and the implications of these trends for the region's human and economic development. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (April 2007)

New PRB Policy Briefs Highlight Demographic Trends, Sexual/Reproductive Health Among Youth in the Middle East
One in five people living in the Middle East and North Africa is between the ages of 15 and 25, an unprecendented 95 million young people. The extent to which these young people will become healthy and productive members of their societies depends on how well governments and civil societies respond to their needs for education, health services, employment, and political participation. Two policy briefs explore these issues. (April 2007)