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)

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)

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)

A milestone we should be proud of
Oxford Student - UK
Demographic studies also show that fertility rates are in decline across 80 percent of the world, widely attributed to the trend towards urbanisation. Over half of the world’s population now lives in cities, where the economic benefit of having children is trifling. China’s one child policy, however disagreeable, has also contributed to the low fertility pattern. As a result, the United Nations Population Division predicts that the number of infants will begin to contract significantly in the next decade. ...(11 November 2011)

7 billion people and you: FAQs
BBC News - UK
Where did you get the information from? The data is provided by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations, which prepares demographic estimates and projections for all countries and areas of the world. Their data serves as a consistent set of global population figures and may differ from your country's own figures. The latest data is found in the UN Population Division's 2010 Revision of the World Population Prospects, released on 3 May 2011. The division issues a new revision every two years. The next one is due in the first half of 2013.
,…(3 November 2011)

Why population hysteria is more damaging than it seems
The Guardian - UK
Today, according to the UN's population division, 42% of the world's population lives in countries with fertility at below replacement level. Another 40% are in intermediate fertility countries, where people are replacing themselves. And the remaining 18% are living in countries with high fertility, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, where women may be having five or more children on average.…(24 October 2011)

Zambia's growing population
BBC News - UK
The rising workload of UTH's maternity unit is a tangible sign of Zambia's growing population. It is 13 million now and projected to triple by 2050 according to the UN Population Division. Even its most cautious projection has the population at 100 million by 2100, with its medium (or best estimate) being 140 million. …(24 October 2011)

Seven billion and counting
Nature - UK
"It's a relatively simple accounting framework: only birth, death and migration can change a population," says Thomas Buettner, assistant director of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York City, where the calculation was carried out on a standard desktop PC. "But there are a lot of conflicting data as well."…(19 October 2011)

When will the 7 billionth human be born?
New Scientist - UK
Wolfgang Lutz of the Vienna Institute of Demography says the UN is "under political pressure to disregard uncertainty and name a date" for 7 billion. But he and colleague Sergei Scherbov estimate that the world probably won't reach 7 billion until early in 2013, though it could be as late as 2020. The director of the UN population division Hania Zlotnik defends her data but agrees that "an interval of a few months or even a year would be a reasonable range of uncertainty".…(14 October 2011)

World population to top 7 billion before 2012
Wired - UK
The latest demographic estimates from the United Nations indicate that the global human population will top 7 billion before 2012. The population division of the department of economic and social affairs has released a report suggesting that the milestone will be achieved a mere 12 years after the 6 billion figure was hit in 1999. Another 2.3 billion are expected to be added by 2050, with human population hitting 10.1 billion in 2100. …(29 July 2011)

What a population of 7 billion people means for the planet
The Guardian - UK
Demographers aren't known for their sense of humor, but the ones who work for the United Nations recently announced that the world's human population will hit 7 billion on Halloween this year. Since censuses and other surveys can scarcely justify such a precise calculation, it's tempting to imagine that the UN Population Division, the data shop that pinpointed the Day of 7 Billion, is hinting that we should all be afraid, be very afraid. We have reason to be. The 21st century is not yet a dozen years old, and there are already 1 billion more people than in October 1999 — with the outlook for future energy and food supplies looking bleaker than it has for decades. …(18 July 2011)

Approaching a world of seven billion people, by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
The Independent - UK
On 31 October 2011, world population will reach 7 billion, according to the United Nations Population Division. This global milestone presents a challenge, an opportunity, and a call to action. Whether we can live together on a healthy planet will depend on the choices that we make now.,…(6 July 2011)

The changing consumer
Asian Investor - UK
In emerging markets, there is an annual income threshold of around $6,000 where consumption explodes. Discretionary spending becomes possible, including travel and holidays,” explains Neele. And the number of people with this level of income is rising. The UN’s Population Division expects the number to rise from 2.5 billion now to more than 5 billion by 2030. …(29 June 2011)

We’re all...just little bits of history repeating
Significance Magazine - UK
In May 2011 the United Nations Population Division released “The 2010 Revision” of its world population estimates and projections. The headline story was that the projection was up greatly on the previous medium variant estimate. We were now projected to number 10.1 billion within the next ninety years, 9.3 billion by 2050. The Division’s press release came with a health warning “Small variations in fertility can produce major differences in the size of populations over the long run. The high projection variant, whose fertility is just half a child above that in the medium variant, produces a world population of 10.6 billion in 2050 and 15.8 billion in 2100. The low variant, whose fertility remains half a child below that of the medium, produces a population that reaches 8.1 billion in 2050 and declines towards the second half of this century to reach 6.2 billion in 2100.”,…(13 June 2011)

How to Profit from the Silver Economy
Hemscott News - UK
The world is living through a period of population ageing that is "without parallel in the history of humanity," according to the UN's population division. This process is a result of the combined effects of declining fertility and reducing mortality rates. Although population ageing affects nearly all countries, the trend is much stronger in developed countries. Globally, the number of those aged 60 and above is expected to exceed the number of children (those under 15) for the first time in 2045. In more advanced countries, this milestone was reached in 1998. ,…(3 March 2011)

UN 'concerned' by world population growth trends
BBC - UK
The UN Population Division have produced six projections of potential future population change based on different changes to fertility level and other factors. In the medium scenario, world population peaks at 9.4 billion in 2070 and then starts to decline. However for this to happen, fertility needs to decline significantly in most developing countries. In recent years, there has been widespread acceptance of the medium scenario as almost a certainty. However Hania Zlotnik, the Director of the UN Population Division says there is "no guarantee that this scenario will become a reality because high-fertility countries may not reduce their fertility fast enough and countries with intermediate fertility levels may see them stagnate above replacement level".…(3 February 2011)

Dominic Lawson: The population timebomb is a myth
The Independent - UK
One reason why the population doomsters have come out in force in recent weeks is that, according to the UN Population Division, this year will see the number of living inhabitants hit the figure of 7 billion; (...) This year National Geographic magazine is making population its theme; but its lengthy opening essay was notable for its lack of alarmism. It quoted Hania Zlotnik, the director of the UN's Population Division, saying: "We still don't understand why fertility has gone down so fast in so many societies, so many cultures and religions. It's just mind-boggling. At this moment, much as I want to say there's still a problem of high fertility rates, it's only about 16 per cent of the world's population, mostly in Africa." ,…(18 January 2011)

Vertical farming: Does it really stack up?
The Economist - UK
According to the UN’s Population Division, by 2050 around 70% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. So it just makes sense, he says, to move farms closer to where everyone will be living.
(9 December 2010)

Population shifts 'substantially influence' emissions
BBC News - UK
"If global population growth slows down, it is not going to solve the climate problem," said lead author Brian O'Neill, a scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (Ncar)."But it can make a contribution, especially in the long-term." According to the UN Population Division, the average annual global growth rate peaked at just over 2.0% between 1965 and 1970.
Since then, it has been steadily falling and currently stands at about 1.1%. By 2050, the UN projects that it will have fallen to an estimated 0.3%.
,…(12 October 2010)

Dounreay nuclear staff look to the future
BBC - UK
Population rates will have declined and then started to rise again by 2300, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. Polar bears could be extinct within the next 100 years say scientists It has projected that the number of people in the world will peak at 9.22 billion in 2075.After reaching this maximum, world population will decline slightly and then increase slowly to reach 8.97 billion by 2300. (17 September 2010)