Egypt's Fertility Decline Slows
A new demographic and health survey (DHS) from Egypt shows that the number of children per woman has declined, from 3.5 in 2000 to about 3.0 in 2008. But most of Egypt's decline occurred before 2005. The 2008 numbers are just slightly below those measured in 2003 and 2005 surveys. This raises the question: Will Egypt's fertility fall much further or are couples now having the number of children they want? The answer is important because it will determine the future population of the Middle East and North Africa. (February 2009)

Tracking Fertility Rates in Low Fertility Countries
The extremely low fertility in most developed and many developing countries has many implications for the future age structure and labor force in these countries. Low birth-rate countries account for more than one-third of the world's population. PRB tracks fertility rates in low-birth rate countries in a unique table, which is frequently updated. View/download most recent table

The Top 2008 World Population Stories on PRB's Website
Which new stories attracted the most web visitors in 2008? We ranked the 2008 stories by the number of times they were viewed by web visitors and listed the top 10. We also list the top publications downloaded. The annual World Population Data Sheet always garners the largest audience, but visitors expressed great interest in U.S. population growth, Kenya's demographic profile, and childhood poverty, among other topics in 2008. (January 2009)

Why Not Adjust the U.S. Census? A PRB Policy Seminar With Kenneth Wachter
The decennial U.S. Census results determine how many members each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, whether the boundaries of congressional districts must be adjusted, and a state's or metro area's share of federal funds based on population size. The last three U.S. population censuses missed between 0.1 percent and 1.8 percent of the population. Why doesn't the U.S. Census Bureau adjust the census results for this undercount, although it has the means to do so? In a PRB Monthly Policy Seminar on Nov. 12, 2008, University of California-Berkeley professor Kenneth Wachter outlined the methods for estimating the undercount and the thorny issues surrounding the question of whether to adjust the census. (December 2008)

PRB Discuss Online: Is Sub-Saharan Africa an Exception to the Global Trend Toward Smaller Families?
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the "last frontier" of fertility decline. Throughout the developing world (including China), the average number of children per woman has dropped from around six in 1965 to just about three today. But in sub-Saharan Africa, there are many countries in which fertility has fallen little, if at all. Is sub-Saharan Africa likely to follow the fertility declines that characterized Asia and Latin America, or is this region different? Steven Sinding, senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, answered participants' questions on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (December 2008)

PRB's DataFinder Updated and Expanded
Guinea-Bissau and Liberia have the world's highest birth rates, but India produces the most births—because of India's combination of moderately high fertility and 1 billion-plus population size. These are a few facts users can find through PRB's searchable database, DataFinder, which has just been updated with the 2008 World Population Data Sheet. (November 2008)

Africa Faces Mixed Progress, Daunting Challenges, in Improving Population Well-Being
Fertility has declined in many African countries from highs of six or seven children per woman down to about five children on average. But although African women use family planning more and bear fewer children, the continent's youthful population will fuel the continent's growth for many decades to come. Africa's 2008 population of 967 million is projected to grow to 1.9 billion by 2050, according to the 2008 Africa Population Data Sheet, published by the Population Reference Bureau and the African Population and Health Research Center. (October 2008)

Swing, Bellwether, and Red and Blue States: Demographics and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election
While historical trends are useful in analyzing the outcome of the upcoming election, news reports and state polls in recent weeks have suggested that changes might be in play for 2008. Several states that have been reliably Republican over the past 20 to 40 years are considered swing (or "battleground") states this time around. Three post-2000 demographic trends emerge when examining these new swing states: each state has a higher voting-age population (VAP) growth rate than the national average; the Hispanic rate of growth in voting population has been especially high;  and much of the growth has occurred among minority groups and in suburban, exurban, and urban areas. (October 2008)

PRB Discuss Online: Demographic Divide: Diverging Population Growth Trends
More than 80 million people were added to the world's population in 2008, ensuring continued growth in coming decades. However, the increase is highly concentrated among the least developed countries, while populations in more developed countries are growing little or even declining. These diverging trends will drive rapid aging in some countries and burgeoning youth populations in others. Carl Haub, senior demographer at PRB, and Mary Mederios Kent, senior demographic editor at PRB, answered participants' questions on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (September 2008)

Most U.S. Workers Still Driving Alone
With gas prices soaring, there are reports of more Americans using carpools, public transportation, bikes, and running shoes to make their daily commutes. But new estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey show that these reports may be overstating the trend; in 2007, the share of people driving alone to work (76 percent) was unchanged from 2000, when gas cost around $1.50 per gallon. And for some minority groups, the share of drivers has increased over the decade. (September 2008)