Making Maps: The Untold Story
At a glance, a map can show characteristics and patterns of a demographic variable. But a poorly or cunningly designed map can lead readers astray. Sizing up the data and categorizing them sensibly is the key to making maps tell the truth. (Population Today, April 2002)

Decline in India’s Birth Rate Slows
India's fertility decline has reached a plateau. Much of this decline occurred in the southern states while the large northern ones will need a dramatic drop in fertility rates to reach goals set for 2010. (March 2002)

International Migration: Facing the Challenge (PDF: 380KB)

 This Population Bulletin highlights the challenges brought by the movement of millions of people across national borders. Such migration has often been controversial, more so now in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. (BUL57.1, March 2002)

KIDS COUNT International Data Sheet
These data dramatize the gaps in well-being between children of rich and poor nations. The data sheet documents children's status country by country on 10 key indicators: number and percentage of children under age 18; mortality rate under age 5; 15-19-year-olds giving birth each year; primary school age children in school; malnourished children under age 5; children with required immunizations; births with skilled attendant at delivery; population with access to safe water; and the number of AIDS orphans. (January 2002)

Understanding and Using Population Projections

 Government policymakers and planners around the world use population projections to gauge future demand for food, water, energy, and services, and to forecast future demographic characteristics. Population projections can alert policymakers to major trends that may affect economic development and help policymakers craft policies that can be adapted for various projection scenarios. (2001)

Population Trends and Challenges in the Middle East and North Africa
The people of the Middle East and North Africa have long played an integral, if sometimes volatile, role in the history of human civilization. Today, MENA's rapid population growth exacerbates the challenges that this region faces as it enters the third millennium. (December 2001)

Elderly Americans (PDF: 340KB)

 The United States is in the midst of a profound demographic change: the rapid aging of its population. The 2000 Census counted nearly 35 million people in the United States 65 years of age or older, about one of every eight Americans. By 2030, demographers estimate that one in five Americans will be age 65 or older. The effects of this older age profile will reverberate throughout the American economy and society in the next 50 years. Preparing for these changes requires an understanding of the growing diversity within the older population. (BUL56.4, December 2001)

Quebec's Alternative to Pronatalism
For centuries, fertility was seen as central to the survival of Quebec's distinct French-Canadian culture. The province's political elite and its clergy successfully promoted relatively high fertility rates to overcome subordination to English-Canada. (Population Today, November/December 2001)

Pondering the Prospects for Lower Fertility in High-Fertility Countries
UN demographers are reviewing assumptions about the future fertility of today’s 46 high-fertility countries. (Population Today, October 2001)

Urbanization Takes on New Dimensions in Asia's Population Giants
The UN projects that the proportion of the world’s people living in urban places will hit 60 percent by 2030, up from 47 percent in 1999. This explosive urban growth will be especially dramatic and uneven in Asia. (Population Today, October 2001)