What Is a City? What Is Urbanization?
In 2008, the United Nations announced that 50 percent of the world's population now lives in urban areas. However, only about 5 percent of world population lives in the largest cities. The fact that over half of the world's population lives in places termed urban is a notable development, to be sure. But, at the same time, it is useful and important to know just how the term "urban" is defined. (October 2009)

The Demographic and Health Surveys at 25 Years and Beyond
For 25 years, the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) program has provided population and health information to plan, monitor, and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs. But the largest sample survey program in history is facing a transition. Populations in the developing countries that these surveys describe are changing and policy priorities continue to evolve, calling for different data. What do these changes mean for those who conduct, analyze, and use the DHS? What are the tradeoffs and decisions facing those who collect or use population and health data in developing countries? A panel of three experts examined these issues in a discussion to kick off the 2009-2010 PRB Policy Seminar Series. (October 2009)

Distilled Demographics: Deciphering Population Pyramids
"Distilled Demographics," PRB's video series, highlights key demographic concepts such as fertility, mortality, and migration. Through these videos, each under 10 minutes, you can learn demography's real-world application and impact. In this first video, "Deciphering Population Pyramids," PRB senior demographer Carl Haub shows how population pyramids give us a snapshot of a country's demographic profile. But what do they tell us about a country's past and future? (October 2009)

Birth Rates Rising in Some Low Birth-Rate Countries
Birth rates are rising in a few countries that have had very low total fertility rates (TFRs) in recent years. But the pattern varies greatly among countries, sometimes because of government policies and immigration. PRB continues to track the TFR in low birth-rate countries. (September 2009)

2009 World Population Data Sheet Webcast: As World Population Approaches 7 Billion, the Youth Population Is More and More Concentrated in Africa and Asia
PRB's 2009 World Population Data Sheet was released at a press briefing at the National Press Club, in Washington, DC, on Aug. 12, 2009. This year's theme is children and youth. (August 2009)

2009 World Population Data Sheet
 Global population numbers are on track to reach 7 billion in 2011, just 12 years after reaching 6 billion in 1999. Virtually all of the growth is in developing countries. And the growth of the world’s youth population (ages 15 to 24) is shifting into the poorest of those countries. The Population Reference Bureau's 2009 World Population Data Sheet and its summary report offer detailed information about country, regional, and global population patterns. (August 2009)

World Population Clock, 2009
This world population clock reflects data from PRB's 2009 World Population Data Sheet. The clock reflects births, deaths, natural increase, and infant deaths by year, month, week, day, hour, minute, and second. The data are for the world, and for more developed countries and less developed countries. (2009)

World Population Highlights: Key Findings From PRB's 2009 World Population Data Sheet
Population change will shape the prospects of regions and countries over the next half century. Future population growth will be almost entirely in the developing world, with the fastest growth in the poorest countries and regions. This Population Bulletin is a companion to PRB's 2009 World Population Data Sheet and provides data and analysis on world population trends, youth, gender, and the environment. (August 2009)

The U.S. Recession and the Birth Rate
Speculation has been rife in the media on the possible effect of the current recession on the U.S. birth rate. Unemployment is approaching 10 percent for the first time in over a quarter century, the housing "bubble" has truly burst, banks and industries have gone bankrupt, and consumer confidence has reached one of its lowest points in the past 50 years. The U.S. birth rate has exhibited some remarkable swings over the past 80 years, but will it decline in response to this current stark economic reality? (July 2009)

Demographic Data for Development Decisionmaking
In September 2008, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation requested that the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) assess what data policy­makers and journalists do use, should use, and how to increase demand for such data in policymaking and report­ing. In response, PRB embarked on case studies in Ethiopia and Uganda. (June 2009)