18 May 2012

A new science of population
The Economist - UK
The biggest question raised by the new research is whether the world is converging demographically or diverging towards disparate futures. The UN, whose population division is the source of much basic demographic material, thinks the world is converging towards the “replacement rate” of fertility; this is 2.1, the magic number that stabilises populations over the long term. ,…(19 May 2012)

07 May 2012

An unfortunate misdiagnosis of our socio-economic challenges
The Independent - Uganda
Urbanisation is another major challenge for Uganda before it makes 75 years. According to the United Nations Population Division, World Urbanisation Prospects 2009, Kampala is one of the 20 fastest growing cities in the world. Kampala’s population will double in the next 15 years. All this population explosion and urbanisation creates an urgent need for infrastructure, oil, energy, water systems, railways, housing, education facilities etc. These are the issues that should be at the center of debate and discourse in the Parliament, mainstream media and civil society forums. …(6 May 2012)

04 May 2012

Philippine Senate expected to pass own version of rewards for 100-year-old Filipinos
Gulf News - UAE
About 455,000 people worldwide have reached one hundred, according to the 2009 report of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. The number of centenarians worldwide is expected to reach 4.1 million by 2050. Sixty nine percent of centenarians live in the more developed regions," the UN report said, adding that Japan's 76,000 people aged one hundred in 2009 will reach almost 800,000 in 2050. ,…(31 March 2012)
Asian and African Urban Population Boom to Pose Challenges - UN
International Business Times - UK
The growth in urban population in Asia and Africa for the next four decades would pose new challenges in terms of jobs, housing and infrastructure, according to a UN report released on Thursday, 5 April 2012. Africa and Asia together will account for 86 per cent of world's urban population over the next four decades, according to the 2011 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects, produced by the UN Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)....(6 April 2012)
UN tips Africa, Asia to lead population growth
The Nation - Nigeria
United Nations report has said that Africa and Asia together would account for 86 per cent of all growth in the world’s urban population over the next four decades.''This unprecedented increase will pose new challenges in terms of jobs, housing and infrastructure,'' said the report, entitled: ``2011 Revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects. It was produced by the UN Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).''Africa’s urban population will increase from 414 million to more than 1.2 billion by 2050, while that of Asia will soar from 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion,'' ,…(6 April 2012)
China’s Achilles heel
The Economist - UK
According to the UN’s population division, the nationwide fertility rate will continue to decline, reaching 1.51 in 2015-20. In contrast, America’s fertility rate is 2.08 and rising. The difference between 1.56 and 2.08 does not sound large. But over the long term it has a huge impact on society. Between now and 2050 China’s population will fall slightly, from 1.34 billion in 2010 to just under 1.3 billion in 2050. ... (21 April 2012)
How Malawi fed its own people, by Jeffrey Sachs
New York Times - US
A dozen years ago, at the start of the new millennium, Malawi’s extreme suffering was pretty much ignored by the world. AIDS, malaria, TB, hunger, extreme poverty and one of the world’s lowest life expectancies (46 years in the period 1995-2000, according to the U.N. Population Division) wracked the land.,…(19 April 2012)

02 May 2012

The rights of older people
Pakistan Observer - Pakistan
According to the UN Population Division, during the next 45 years, the number of people aged 60 years or older is expected to almost triple, increasing from 668 million in 2005 to nearly 2.03 billion by 2050, This proportional increase by almost 80% during the next four decades will be a demographic fact, sooner than most of us realise. At the same time, the number of “older old” persons (here defined as 80 years and over) in the developed world will reach unprecedented levels.…(1 May 2012)
Investing in population growth
Money Management - Australia
According to the UN’s Population Division, we are living through a period of population ageing that is “without parallel in the history of humanity”.This process is a result of the combined effects of declining fertility and falling mortality rates.Although population ageing is both a pervasive and irreversible reality in nearly all countries of the world, the trend is significantly stronger in more developed countries – the proportion of people aged 60 and over in developed countries is expected to rise to a third of the total in 2050, from around a fifth today....(20 April 2012)
Why you should take notice of the retirement phenomenon
Philippine Daily Inquirer - Philippines
Elderly spending, particularly on the property sector, has been on the rise, fueled mostly by maturing life savings and retirement benefits. But the retirement demographic doesn’t even involve merely the elderly. There have been also younger individuals who plan to retire soon and invest in properties at the same time. These retirees, whether of “retirable age” or still in the peak of their productive years, are meticulously choosing the places they want to settle into and invest in. This is most evident among the first and second generation of Filipino-American professionals or active retirees who have decided to come home to the Philippines for good. It is a phenomenon, however, that is not exclusive to the Philippines. The over-60 population worldwide is expected to triple by 2050, according to projections by the United Nations Population Division.…(27 April 2012)
Nigeria’s population to increase by 200m in 40 years - UN
Nigerian Tribune - Nigeria
A recent report from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) ahead of next month’s Rio+20 summit, disclosed that it is from Africa and Asia that 86 per cent of all growth in the world’s urban population over the next four decades will come from. (...) Over all on continental levels, Africa’s urban population will increase from 414 million to over 1.2 billion by 2050 while that of Asia will soar from 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion, according to the 2011 Revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects, produced by the UN Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.…(2 May 2012)