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Population Division
The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs conducts demographic research, supports intergovernmental processes at the United Nations in the area of population and development, and assists countries in developing their capacity to produce and analyse population data and information.
Commission on Population and Development
A Population Commission was established by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 3 (III) of 3 October 1946. In its resolution 49/128 of 19 December 1994, the General Assembly decided that the Commission should be renamed the Commission on Population and Development.
World Population Highlights 2026: Youth
World Population Highlights 2026: Youth provides sound, comparable and timely data on global youth population trends, including changes in size and geographical distribution and key dimensions of youth well-being. The report identifies priority actions to reduce disparities, promote sustainable livelihoods, improve health outcomes — including sexual and reproductive health — and strengthen the protection of young people’s rights.
Highlights
New publications
Commission on Population and Development, fifty-ninth session: Ten key messages
Policy Brief on Revealing the generational economy: an essential system at risk
World Population Highlights 2026: Youth
Policy Brief on Gender matters in an ageing world: the case for gender-responsive policies
Technical Paper: Cohort fertility from the World Population Prospects
The World’s Cities in 2025: Data Booklet
World Urbanization Prospects 2025: Summary of Results
Recent and upcoming events
Commission on Population and Development, fifty-ninth session, 13 - 17 April 2026
CPD 59 Side Event: Aligning Policy and Data Production: Building Sustainable Demographic and Health Statistics, 14 April 2026
CPD 59 Side Event: Revealing the hidden generational economy: National Transfer Accounts, 14 April 2026
Launch of the World Population Highlights 2026: Youth, 2 March 2026
Briefing on the substantive preparations for the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on Population and Development, 16 December 2025
Launch: World Urbanization Prospects 2025: Summary of Results, 18 November 2025
Population Division Activities at the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025, 4 - 6 November 2025
Expert consultation series on population, technology and research in the context of sustainable development, 21-30 October 2025
World Population Day 2025, 11 July 2025
Commission on Population and Development, fifty-eighth session, 7 - 11 April 2025
International Migration and Sustainable Development, 18 December 2024 "Launch"
Briefing on the substantive preparations for the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on Population and Development, 12 December 2024
Select key messages from the WPP2024
Themes
Adolescents and Youth
Globally, the number of adolescents and young people is at an all-time high. While the number of young people has been declining in the more developed regions since it peaked around 1980, it has been increasing in the less developed regions and is expected to continue to grow over the next few decades.
Ageing
https://sdgs.un.org/goalsWhen fertility begins to decline from elevated levels, the population distribution by age changes. Initially, the reduction in fertility leads to an increase in the relative size of the population at working ages, creating a favourable age distribution that may help to accelerate economic growth per capita, resulting in a “demographic dividend”.
Capacity Development
The Population Division builds and strengthens national capacities to estimate and analyse population levels and trends and other demographic indicators for formulating and implementing national policies and programmes related to population and development.
Family Planning
The Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development affirmed the basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so.
Fertility and Marriage
Continued high fertility in some countries and areas is the major driver of population growth, while in other countries and areas the decline of fertility to historically low levels propels changes in the age distribution, including the gradual ageing of the human population.
International Migration
It is widely recognized that migrants make a positive contribution to inclusive growth and sustainable development in countries of origin and destination.
Mortality
Reducing mortality, increasing life expectancy, and improving the health of populations are key objectives of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Population Policies
Well-designed government policies are critical for implementing the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Population Trends
Timely and accurate information about changes in the size and characteristics of a country’s population is needed by national governments, the United Nations, international organizations and civil society to formulate, implement and evaluate policies and programmes in almost all spheres of life.
Sustainable Development Goals
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the General Assembly in September 2015, provides an ambitious set of goals whose achievement will set humanity on a path towards sustainability.
Urbanization
The world is becoming increasingly urbanized. Today, more than half of the global population lives in urban areas, up from around one-third in 1950 and projected to increase to around two-thirds in 2050.