Report. Facts of Life-Youth Sexuality and Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa
(2011) One in five people living in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, or nearly 90 million in 2010, is between the ages of 15 and 24, a demographic group called "youth." No longer children, but not yet independent adults, these young people are at a crucial juncture in their lives.
Among countries with a youthful population, a window of opportunity to achieve key development goals opens across four sectors―health, education, the economy, and governance―as fertility declines and the age structure of the population gets older.
(2011) The world's population is growing—and aging. Very low birth rates in developed countries, coupled with birth rate declines in most developing countries, are projected to increase the population ages 65 and over to the point in 2050 when it will be 2.5 times that of the population ages 0-4. This is an exact reversal of the situation in 1950.