WorldPopulationProspects2024

SummaryofResults

UNDESA/POP/2024/TR/NO.9

DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs

PopulationDivision

WorldPopulationProspects2024

SummaryofResults

UnitedNationsNewYork,2024

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,PopulationDivision

TheDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairsoftheUnitedNationsSecretariatisavitalinterfacebetweenglobalpoliciesintheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalspheresandnationalaction.TheDepartmentworksinthreemaininterlinkedareas:(i)itcompiles,generatesandanalysesawiderangeofeconomic,socialandenvironmentaldataandinformationonwhichStatesMembersoftheUnitedNationsdrawtoreviewcommonproblemsandtakestockofpolicyoptions;(ii)itfacilitatesthenegotiationsofMemberStatesinmanyintergovernmentalbodiesonjointcoursesofactiontoaddressongoingoremergingglobalchallenges;and(iii)itadvisesinterestedGovernmentsonthewaysandmeansoftranslatingpolicyframeworksdevelopedinUnitedNationsconferencesandsummitsintoprogrammesatthecountryleveland,throughtechnicalassistance,helpsbuildnationalcapacities.

ThePopulationDivisionoftheDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairsprovidestheinternationalcommunitywithtimelyandaccessiblepopulationdataandanalysisofpopulationtrendsanddevelopmentoutcomesforallcountriesandareasoftheworld.Tothisend,theDivisionundertakesregularstudiesofpopulationsizeandcharacteristicsandofallthreecomponentsofpopulationchange(fertility,mortalityandmigration).Foundedin1946,thePopulationDivisionprovidessubstantivesupportonpopulationanddevelopmentissuestotheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,theEconomicandSocialCouncilandtheCommissiononPopulationandDevelopment.ItalsoleadsorparticipatesinvariousinteragencycoordinationmechanismsoftheUnitedNationssystem.TheworkoftheDivisionalsocontributestostrengtheningthecapacityofMemberStatestomonitorpopulationtrendsandtoaddresscurrentandemergingpopulationissues.

Suggestedcitation

UnitedNations(2024).WorldPopulationProspects2024:SummaryofResults.UNDESA/POP/2024/TR/NO.9.New

York:UnitedNations.

ThisreportisavailableinelectronicformatontheDivision’swebsiteat.Forfurtherinformationaboutthisreport,pleasecontacttheOfficeoftheDirector,PopulationDivision,DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,UnitedNations,NewYork,10017,USA,byFax:12129632147orbyemailatpopulation@.

Copyrightinformation

Frontcover:“ChildrenplayonanewlyconstructedplaygroundbythecommunitynutritionsiteinthevillageofSoavinainMadagascar(2019)”,WorldBank/SarahFarhat.

Backcover:“FamiliesenjoyinganafternooninSimonBolivarParkinBogotá,ColombiaonJanuary11,2016”.WorldBank/DominicChavez.

UnitedNationsPublication

SalesNo.:E.22.XIII.5

ISBN:9789210031691

eISBN:9789211065138

Copyright?UnitedNations,2024.

FiguresandtablesinthispublicationcanbereproducedwithoutpriorpermissionunderaCreativeCommonslicense(CCBY3.0IGO),

/licenses/by/3.0/igo/

.

IIUnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivision

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivisionIII

Contents

Acknowledgements IV

Explanatorynotes V

Listofabbreviations VI

Keymessages VII

Introduction 1

ChapterI.Awarenessofpopulationtrendsiscriticalforachievingasustainablefuture 3

ChapterII.Countriesandareaswithpopulationsthathavealreadypeaked 15

ChapterIII.Countriesandareaswithpopulationslikelytopeakwithin30years 25

ChapterIV.Countriesandareaswithpopulationslikelytogrowthrough2054 33

References 47

Annex1:What’snewinWPP2024? 51

Annex2:Selectedindicators 53

Acknowledgements

ThisreportwaspreparedbyateamledbyClareMenozziincludingThomasSpoorenbergandLinaBassarskywithadditionalsupportfromVladimíraKantorováandLubovZeifman.

ThegraphsandfigureswerepreparedbyateamledbyLinaBassarskyincludingMarkWheldon,GiuliaGonnella,LubovZeifmanandDananGuwithadditionalsupportfromZiruiChen.

TheauthorswishtothankJohnWilmoth,KarolineSchmid,PatrickGerland,CherylSawyer,StephenKisambira,SaraHertogandMarkWheldonforreviewingthedraft.

TheWorldPopulationProspects2024datawerepreparedbyateamledbyPatrickGerland,includingSrikanthAthaluri,HelenaCruzCastanheira,FernandoFernandes,SaraHertog,YumikoKamiya,VladimíraKantorová,PabloLattes,KyawKyawLay,JosephMolitoris,SuryanarayanaMurthyPalacharla,IvanPrlincevic,JoséHenriqueMonteirodaSilva,MarkWheldon,IvánWilliams,ChandraYamarthyandLubovZeifman,withtheassistanceofFengqingChao,JorgeCimentada,Ivan?ipin,SeharEzdi,GiuliaGonnella,PetraMedimurec,AdrianRaftery,JamesRaymer,TimRiffe,CarlSchmertmann,BrunoSchoumaker,Hana?ev?íková,SladjanaStojanovicandVladimirTarailo.TheteamisgratefultoothercolleaguesinthePopulationDivisionforthesupporttheyhaveprovided,aswellascolleaguesfromtheLatinAmericanandCaribbeanDemographicCentre,PopulationDivisionoftheUnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean(ECLAC),theDemographicStatisticsSectionoftheStatisticsDivisionoftheUnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,andtheteamsoftheUnitedNationsInter-AgencyGroupforChildMortalityEstimation(UNIGME)andtheWHO-UNDESATechnicalAdvisoryGrouponCOVIDMortalityAssessmentfortheirinputsandcontinuoussupport.

TheassistanceofWilliamDunbar,DonnaCulpepperandBintouPapouteOuedraogoineditinganddesktoppublishingisacknowledged.

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivision

IV

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivisionV

Explanatorynotes

Thefollowingsymbolshavebeenusedinthetablesthroughoutthisreport:

Aminussign(-)beforeafigureindicatesadecreaseornegativenumber.

Afullstop(.)isusedtoindicatedecimals.

Unlessotherwisestated,yearsgivenreferto1July.

Useofadash(–)betweenyears,forexample,1995–2000,signifiesthefullperiodinvolved,from1Julyofthefirstyearto1Julyofthesecondyear.

Numbersandpercentagesinthistabledonotnecessarilyaddtototalsbecauseofrounding.

Referencestoregion,developmentgroup,countryorarea:

ThedesignationsemployedinthispublicationandthematerialpresentedinitdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionswhatsoeveronthepartoftheSecretariatoftheUnitedNationsconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.Theterm“country”asusedinthisreportalsorefers,asappropriate,toterritoriesorareas.

Inthispublication,dataforcountriesandareasareoftenaggregatedinsixcontinentalregions:Africa,Asia,Europe,LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean,NorthernAmerica,andOceania.Furtherinformationoncontinentalregionsisavailablefrom:

/unsd/methodology/m49/.Countriesandareashavealsobeengroupedinto

geographicregionsbasedontheclassificationbeingusedtotrackprogresstowardstheSustainableDevelopment

GoalsoftheUnitedNations(see:

/sdgs/indicators/regional-groups/

).

Thedesignationof“moredeveloped”and“l(fā)essdeveloped”,or“developed”and“developing”,isintendedforstatisticalpurposesanddoesnotexpressajudgmentaboutthestageinthedevelopmentprocessreachedbyaparticularcountryorarea.MoredevelopedregionscompriseallcountriesandareasofEuropeandNorthernAmerica,plusAustralia,NewZealandandJapan.LessdevelopedregionscompriseallcountriesandareasofAfrica,Asia(excludingJapan),LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean,andOceania(excludingAustraliaandNewZealand).

Thegroupofleastdevelopedcountries(LDCs)includes45countries,asof8May2024,locatedinsub-SaharanAfrica(32),NorthernAfricaandWesternAsia(2),CentralandSouthernAsia(3),EasternandSouth-EasternAsia(4),LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean(1),andOceania(3).Furtherinformationisavailableat:

/ohrlls/

.

Theclassificationofcountriesandareasbyincomelevelisbasedongrossnationalincome(GNI)percapitaasreportedbytheWorldBank(May2024).Theseincomegroupsarenotavailableforallcountriesandareas.Furtherinformationisavailableat:

/knowledgebase/articles/906519

.

Listofabbreviations

AIDS

Acquiredimmunedeficiencysyndrome

COVID-19

Coronavirusdisease2019

CRVS

Civilregistrationandvitalstatistics

DALYs

Disability-adjustedlifeyears

GBD

GlobalBurdenofDiseases

GCC

CooperationCouncilfortheArabStatesoftheGulf

GDP

Grossdomesticproduct

HALE

Healthylifeexpectancy

HIV

Humanimmunodeficiencyvirus

ICPD

InternationalConferenceonPopulationandDevelopment

IHME

InstituteofHealthMetricsandEvaluation

IIASA

InternationalInstituteforAppliedSystemsAnalysis

ISCED

InternationalStandardClassificationofEducation

SDGs

SustainableDevelopmentGoals

TFR

Totalfertilityrate

UNDESA

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs

UNIGME

UnitedNationsInter-AgencyGroupforChildMortalityEstimation

UNICEF

UnitedNationsChildren’sFund

WHO

WorldHealthOrganization

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UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivision

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivisionVII

Keymessages

Theworld’spopulationislikelytopeakwithinthecurrentcentury.

?Theworld’spopulationisexpectedtocontinuegrowingoverthecoming50or60years,reachingapeakofaround10.3billionpeopleinthemid-2080s,upfrom8.2billionin2024.

?Afterpeaking,theglobalpopulationisprojectedtostartdeclininggradually,fallingto10.2billionpeoplebytheendofthecentury.

?Theestimatedlikelihoodthattheworld’spopulationwillpeakwithinthecurrentcenturyisveryhigh(withaprobabilityof80percent).

?ThisrepresentsamajorchangecomparedtoprojectionspublishedbytheUnitedNationsin2013,whentheestimatedprobabilitythatglobalpopulationgrowthwouldendduringthetwenty-firstcenturywasaround30percent.

?Thesizeoftheworld’spopulationin2100isnowexpectedtobe6percentsmaller–orabout700millionpeoplefewer–thananticipatedadecadeago.

?Theearlieroccurrenceofapeakintheprojectedsizeoftheglobalpopulationisduetoseveralfactorsincludinglower-than-expectedlevelsoffertilityinrecentyearsinsomeoftheworld’slargestcountries,particularlyChina.

Oneinfourpeoplegloballyliveinacountrywhosepopulationhasalreadypeakedinsize.

?In63countriesandareas–containing28percentoftheworld’spopulationin2024–thesizeofthepopulationpeakedbefore2024.ThisgroupincludesChina,Germany,JapanandtheRussianFederation.

?Thenumberofpeoplelivingintheselocationsisprojectedtodeclineby14percentoverthenextthirtyyears,withAlbania,BosniaandHerzegovina,Lithuania,PuertoRicoandtheRepublicofMoldovarecordingthelargestrelativereductionsby2054amongcountriesandareaswithatleast90,000inhabitantsin2024.

?In48countriesandareas,representing10percentoftheworld’spopulationin2024,thepopulationsizeisprojectedtopeakbetween2025and2054.ThisgroupincludesBrazil,theIslamicRepublicofIran,TürkiyeandVietNam.

?Thesizeofthepopulationintheselocationsisprojectedtoincreaseby5.3percentoverthenextthirtyyears,withBhutan,Colombia,CyprusandtheIslamicRepublicofIranamongthoserecordingthelargestrelativeincreasesby2054.

?Intheremaining126countriesandareas,thepopulationislikelytocontinuegrowingthrough2054,potentiallyreachingapeaklaterinthecenturyorbeyond2100.Thisgroupincludesseveraloftheworld’smostpopulouscountries,suchasIndia,Indonesia,Nigeria,PakistanandtheUnitedStatesofAmerica.

?Thenumberofpeoplelivingintheselocationsisprojectedtoincreaseby38percentthrough2054.Innineofthesecountriesandareas,includingAngola,theCentralAfricanRepublic,theDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo,NigerandSomalia,populationgrowthislikelytobeveryrapid,withpopulationsdoublingbetween2024and2054.

?Thetrajectoryofpopulationchangeforthislastgroupwillhaveamajorinfluenceonthesizeandtimingofthepopulationpeakatthegloballevel.

Womentodaybearonechildfewer,onaverage,thantheydidaround1990.

?Currently,theglobalfertilityratestandsat2.25livebirthsperwoman,1downfrom3.31birthsin1990.

?Morethanhalfofallcountriesandareasgloballyhavefertilitybelowthereplacementlevelof2.1livebirthsperwoman.Thisisthelevelrequiredforapopulationtomaintainaconstantsizeinthelongrunwithoutmigration,witheachgenerationfollowedbyanotherofroughlyequalsize.

?Currently,nearlyonefifthofallcountriesandareas,includingChina,Italy,theRepublicofKoreaandSpain,areexperiencingwhatissometimesreferredtoas“ultra-low”fertility,withfewerthan1.4livebirthsperwomanoveralifetime.

?For24countrieswithultra-lowfertilityin2024andwherethepopulationhasalreadypeaked,areturnto2.1birthsperwomanorhigherwithinthenext30yearsishighlyunlikely(probabilityof0.1percent).

?Bythelate2030s,halfofthewomenincountrieswithpopulationsthathavealreadypeakedwillbetoooldtohavechildrenbynaturalmeans.Becausetheshareofwomeninthereproductiveagerange(roughly,between15and49years)isprojectedtodeclinerapidlyinsuchcountries,theimpactonpopulationsizeofpoliciesaimedatraisingfertilitylevelsislikelytodiminishovertime.

Earlychildbearinghasharmfuleffectsonyoungmothersandtheirchildren.

?Today,thefertilitylevelisatorabove2.1livebirthsperwomanin45percentofcountriesandareasglobally.Overoneintencountriesandareas–mostlyinsub-SaharanAfrica–havefertilitylevelsoffourbirthsormoreperwoman.ThisgroupincludestheCentralAfricanRepublic,Chad,theDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo,NigerandSomalia.

?Fertilityabovethereplacementlevelisprojectedtocontributeoveronefifthofthepopulationincreasethrough2054inthosecountriesandareaswherethepopulationislikelytocontinuegrowingthrough2054.

?In2024,4.7millionbabies,orabout3.5percentofthetotalworldwide,wereborntomothersunderage18.Ofthese,some340,000wereborntogirlsunderage15,withseriousadverseconsequencesforthehealthandwell-beingofboththeyoungmothersandtheirchildren.

?Investingintheeducationofyoungpeople,especiallygirls,andincreasingtheaverageagesatmarriageandfirstchildbearinginlocationswherethesemilestoneeventsoftenoccurearlywillhavepositiveeffectsonwomen’shealth,educationalattainmentandlabourforceparticipation.

?Increasingtheageatfirstchildbearingcontributestoslowingpopulationgrowth,reducingthescaleoftheinvestmentsandeffortrequiredtoachievesustainabledevelopmentwhileensuringthatnooneisleftbehind.Iftherewerenomorebirthstogirlsunderage18,thepopulationofsub-SaharanAfricain2054wouldbe3.8percentsmallerthanwhatiscurrentlyprojected.

FollowingtheCOVID-19pandemic,globallifeexpectancyisrisingonceagain.

?Globally,lifeexpectancyatbirthreached73.3yearsin2024,anincreaseof8.4yearssince1995.Furtherreductionsinmortalityareprojectedtoresultinanaveragelongevityofaround77.4yearsgloballyin2054.

?Since2022,lifeexpectancyhasreturnedtolevelsobservedbeforetheemergenceofthecoronavirusdisease(COVID-19)innearlyallcountriesandareas.Attheheightofthepandemic(during2020and2021),globallifeexpectancyatbirthfellto70.9years,downfrom72.6yearsin2019.

?Bythelate2050s,itisprojectedthatmorethanhalfofalldeathsgloballywilloccuratage80orhigher,comparedto17percentin1995.

1Inthisreport,“births”referstolivebirths.

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?In2023,thenumberofdeathsamongchildrenunderage5fellbelow5millionforthefirsttimeinrecenthistory;95percentofsuchdeathstookplaceinthe126countriesandareaswithpopulationsthatarelikelytogrowthrough2054,includingtheDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo,India,NigeriaandPakistan.

?Dedicatingmoreresourcestocritical,low-costtreatmentsandinterventions,suchasensuringaccesstoantenatalandpostnatalcare,skilledbirthattendants,vaccinationsandnutritionalsupplements,wouldsavemillionsoflivesworldwideoverthenextdecade.

?Increasinglevelsoflifeexpectancyatbirthareexpectedtocontributetopopulationgrowth,ortohelpmitigatepopulationdecline,innearlyalllocationsoverthecomingdecades.Amongcountriesandareaswithpopulationsthathavealreadypeaked,thecontinuingdropinmortality,togetherwithimmigrationinsomecases,isexpectedtoslowthepopulationdeclinecausedbyfertilitybelowthereplacementlevel.

Themaindriverofglobalpopulationincreasethroughmid-centurywillbethemomentumcreatedbygrowthinthepast.

?Globally,thenumberofwomeninthereproductiveagerange(roughly,between15and49years)isprojectedtogrowthroughthelate2050s,whenitwilllikelypeakataround2.2billion,upfromnearly2.0billionin2024.Growthinthenumberofwomenofreproductiveageisconducivetocontinuingpopulationincreaseevenwhenthenumberofbirthsperwomanfallstothereplacementlevelorlower.

?Themomentumofpastgrowththatisembeddedintheyouthfulagestructureoftoday’sglobalpopulationisprojectedtocontribute79percentofthetotalincreasethrough2054,oraround1.4billionpeople.

?Inapopulationthatisclosedtomigration,whenfertilityremainsbelowthereplacementlevelforanextendedperiod,thenumberofwomenofreproductiveagestartstodeclineassuccessivecohortsbecomesmallerandsmaller.Incountrieswithpopulationsthathavealreadypeaked,thenumberofwomeninthereproductiveagerangeisprojectedtoshrinkby33percentbetween2024and2054.

?Forsomepopulations,aprolongedhistoryoffertilitybelowthereplacementlevelhasresultedinadecliningpopulationandanagedistributionthatissignificantlyolderthaninthepast.For18countriesandareas,today’solderagedistributionislikelytobethemaindriverofpopulationdeclinebetweennowand2054.Evenassumingasubstantialreboundinthefertilitylevel,thesepopulationsarelikelytocontinuedeclininginsizebecauseofthemomentumofpastdecline.

?Countriesandareaswithpopulationsthatareprojectedtopeakbetweennowand2054tendtohaveyoungeragestructures,whichareconducivetocontinuedgrowth.In25oftheselocations,includingBrazil,theIslamicRepublicofIranandVietNam,themomentumofpastgrowthisprojectedtobethemaindriverofpopulationgrowthoverthenextdecades.

?For88ofthe126countriesandareaswithpopulationslikelytogrowthrough2054,therelativeyouthfulnessofthepopulationislikelytobethemaindriverofpopulationgrowthoverthenext30years,addingtotheimpactofcurrenthighlevelsoffertility.

Countrieswithyouthfulpopulationsanddecliningfertilityhavealimitedtimetobenefiteconomicallyfromanincreasingconcentrationofpopulationintheworkingages.

?Fornearlyallcountriesandareaswithpopulationsthathavepeakedinsizeby2024,andforthreequartersofthosewithpopulationsprojectedtopeakbetween2025and2054,thetime-boundwindowofopportunityforacceleratedeconomicgrowthassociatedwithayouthfulpopulationanddecliningfertilityhasalreadyclosed.

?Inaround100countriesandareas,however,theshareofpopulationintheworkingages(between20and64years)willcontinuetoincreasemorerapidlythanthetotalpopulationbetweennowand2054,providingawindowofopportunityknownasthe“demographicdividend”.

?Thedemographicdividendpresentsanopportunitytoacceleratesustainabledevelopment,whenasubstantialandsustaineddeclineinfertilityleadstoanincreasedconcentrationofthepopulationintheworkingages.Toamplifyandprolongthisopportunity,soundeconomicandsocialpoliciesareneeded.

?Incountrieswithyouthfulpopulations,substantialinvestmentsineducation,healthcareandinfrastructure,alongwithreformstopromotethecreationofopportunitiesfordecentworkandtoimprovethetransparencyandefficiencyofgovernmentinstitutions,areneededtoensurethatthistime-boundopportunityisnotwasted.

By2080,personsaged65orolderwilloutnumberchildrenunder18.

?Bythelate2070s,thenumberofpersonsatages65yearsandhighergloballyisprojectedtoreach2.2billion,surpassingthenumberofchildren(underage18).Bythemid-2030s,itisprojectedthattherewillbe265millionpersonsaged80yearsorolder,morethanthenumberofinfants(1yearofageorless).

?Incountrieswherethesizeofthepopulationhasalreadypeakedorisprojectedtopeakinthecomingdecades,thecrossoverbetweenthenumberofchildrenandpersonsaged65orolderwilloccursooner.

?Evenincountrieswithpopulationsthatarestillgrowingrapidlyandhaverelativelyyouthfulpopulations,thenumberofpersonsaged65orolderisexpectedtoriseoverthenext30years.

?Countries,especiallythosewithpopulationsthathavealreadypeakedorwillpeakinthenextdecades,shouldconsiderleveragingtechnology,includingautomation,toimproveproductivityatallages.Theyshouldalsodesignmoreopportunitiesforlifelonglearningandretraining,supportmultigenerationalworkforcesandcreateemploymentopportunitiesforolderpersonswhowanttocontinuetowork.

?Forcountrieswithpopulationsthatarestillgrowingrapidly,inadditiontothepolicieslistedabove,foresightwillberequiredtoprepareforasocietywithanagestructurethatwillbeverydifferentfromtheonetheyhavetoday.Thiswouldincludestrengtheningsystemsofhealthandlong-termcare,improvingthesustainabilityofsocialprotectionsystemsandinvestinginnewtechnologies.

?Becausewomenlivelongerthanmenonaverage,theyoutnumbermenatolderagesinalmostallpopulations.Policiesshouldaddresswomen’slongerlifeexpectancybyensuringequitableaccesstoretirementbenefits,prioritizinggender-specifichealthcareneeds,andstrengtheningsocialsupportsystemstomitigatepotentialcaregivingburdens.

Forsomepopulations,immigrationwillbethemaindriveroffuturegrowth.

?In50countriesandareas,immigrationisprojectedtoattenuatethedeclineinpopulationsizecausedbysustainedlowlevelsoffertilityandanolderagestructure.

?ForcountriessuchasItaly,GermanyandtheRussianFederation,wherepopulationsizehasalreadypeaked,thepeakwouldhaveoccurredsoonerintheabsenceofimmigration.

?Immigrationisprojectedtobethemaindriverofpopulationgrowthin52countriesandareasthrough2054andin62through2100,includingAustralia,CanadaandtheUnitedStatesofAmerica.

?Emigrationgenerallydoesnothaveamajorimpactonthepopulationsizeofacountry,butin14countriesandareasalreadyexperiencingultra-lowfertility,emigrationislikelytobeamajordriverofpopulationlossbetweennowand2054.

?Incountrieswherefertilitylevelsarealreadybelowthereplacementlevel,theemigrationofpeopleinthereproductiveagerangecanfurtherdepresspopulationgrowth.Insuchcountries,creatingmoreopportunitiesfordecentworkandpromotingreturnmigrationcouldbemoreeffectiveatslowingpopulationdeclineintheshortrunthanpoliciesaimedatraisingfertilitylevels.

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UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivision

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivisionXI

Genderequalityandwomen’sempowermenthelptocounterrapidpopulationgrowthordecline.

?Discriminationandlegalbarriersoftenpreventwomenandadolescentsfrommakingautonomousdecisionsabouttheirsexualandreproductivehealth,includingbylimitingaccesstofamilyplanning.Suchconditionstendtopreventorpostponethereductionoffertilityinpopulationsthataregrowingrapidly.

?Raisingtheminimumlegalageatmarriageandintegratingfamilyplanningandsafemotherhoodmeasuresintoprimaryhealthcarecanhelptoraisewomen’slevelsofeducation,facilitatetheireconomicparticipationandreducetheincidenceofearlychildbearing.

?Inlocationswherethepopulationhaspeakedalreadyorislikelytopeakinthenextthreedecades,gendergapsinthedivisionofdomesticworkwithinhouseholdsandinadequatechildandfamilywelfaresupportmaypreventordiscouragewomenandcouplesfromhavinglargerfamiliesevenwhentheywantthem.

?Governmentswishingtohelpcouplesandindividualstoachievetheirdesiredfamilysizemayconsideravarietyofpoliciesaimedatbalancingfamilyandworklife.Thesemayinclude:providingpaidparentalleaveandflexibleworkingarrangements;supportingaffordable,high-qualitychildcareoptionsandhousing;providingcomprehensivecareforanageingpopulation;andencouraginganequaldistributionofcaregivingandhouseholdresponsibilitiesbetweenmenandwomen.

Manchester,Jamaica(2023).ShawnWynter/WorldBank.

UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs?PopulationDivision1

Introductio