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Fast Facts
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Over the next 25 years the world will add as many people as
it did the past 25 years.
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While people are ageing, the world has more young people than
ever before. Nearly 1/2 of all people on our planet are under
the age of 25.
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The number of married women in developing countries is expected
to grow to 179 million by 2015.
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Globally, and in sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility is higher
than in any other region of the world, surveys indicate that
women want fewer children than they are having.
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Population in the least developed countries (LDCs) will triple
by 2050, thus population is growing fastest in the poorest countries,
those least able to provide for basic needs and create opportunities.
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In the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, the situation is
one of rising death rates and lower life expectancy.
- An estimated 11.7 million refugees have fled their own countries
to escape from persecution, armed conflict or violence. People
internally displaced within their own countries number 20-25 million,
many increasing the numbers of the urban poor.
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The 20 per cent of the world’s people living in the highest
income countries are responsible for 86 per cent of total private
consumption compared with the poorest 20 per cent, who account
for only 1.3 per cent.
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The richest fifth account for 53 per cent of carbon dioxide
emissions, the poorest fifth, 3 per cent.
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A child born in the industrial world adds more to consumption
and pollution levels in one lifetime than do 30 to 50 children
born in developing countries.
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Additionally, in the next 25 years, the world will experience
a 2 billion gain in population, almost all in developing countries,
least able to bear the burdens of additional services and care.
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Least developed countries are estimated to triple their populations
in the next 50 years.
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Some 60 per cent of the world's poor live in fragile and highly
vulnerable areas – on arid and semi-arid lands, on steep slopes
and in forests.
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The urban proportion is projected to rise to 53 per cent
in 2015 and reach 58 per cent in 2025
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Urbanization levels are rising particularly rapidly in
less developed regions. The proportion of the world’s
urban population living in these regions is projected
to increase from 32 per cent in 2000 to 45 per cent in
2025 (Figure
4).
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Looked at in another way, in 2000 some 40 per cent of
people living in less developed regions were urban: by
2025 this figure is projected to grow to 54 per cent.
Megacities, or agglomerations of 10 million or more inhabitants
– are becoming ever-more prominent.
- With globalization, social unrest, economic and political
crises, and natural disasters, there is an unprecedented
rise in numbers of migrants. More than 125 million people
now live outside their countries of birth.
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FIGURE
4:
Estimated and Projected Distribution of Global
Population by Urban and Rural Residence, 2000
and 2025
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Population ageing is the shift in the age distribution of the
population where the relative share of persons at older ages
increases and the share of persons at younger ages decreases.
This is distinct from absolute increases in the number of older
persons that can occur even if their share does not increase.
Populations are ageing because of lower fertility rates and
lower mortality rates.
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According to the United Nations definition, persons 60 years
and over are considered elderly. In 2000, 10 per cent of the
world's population was 60 years old or over or about 600 million
persons. The majority of older persons are women. About two-thirds
of older persons live in developing countries. Most live in
rural areas. By 2050, 21 per cent of the world's population
is expected to be 60 years old or over.
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The fastest growing age group is the oldest-old, those aged
80 years and over. They are growing at a rate of 3.8 per cent
per year, compared to the age group 60 years and over which
is growing at 2 per cent per year. Globally, the total population
is growing at a rate of 1.2 per cent annually.
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Developed regions have a much larger percentage of older persons
than developing regions. For example, in 2000, the percentage
of older persons was as follows: Africa – 5%, Asia – 9%, Latin
America and the Caribbean – 8%, Europe – 20%, Northern America
– 16% and Oceania – 13%.
- Population ageing is one of humanity's major achievements. However,
it is also a major challenge because many developing countries
are not prepared to satisfy all the needs of the growing numbers
of older persons in their populations. Population ageing in developing
countries is taking place at much lower levels of socio-economic
development than was the case in developed countries. Older persons
are consistently among the poorest and most vulnerable, especially
widows and the childless.
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UNFPA promotes policy dialogue and seeks to ensure that the
development agenda gives adequate consideration to the implications
of population ageing and intergenerational issues.
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UNFPA supports training of policy makers and programme planners
to respond to the challenges of population ageing.
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UNFPA supports research on population ageing, its socio-cultural
aspects and its social and economic implications.
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UNFPA supports analysis of survey data on the poverty and socio-economic
vulnerability of older persons and qualitative data collection
taking account the voices of the older poor.
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UNFPA promotes policies that support gender equality of older
persons
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UNFPA advocates for support to family caregivers of elderly
relatives.
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UNFPA promotes support systems for elderly caregivers of AIDS
victims and AIDS orphans.
- UNFPA supports systems to combat all forms of discrimination,
violence and abuse of the elderly.
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The ICPD Programme of Action estimated that implementation
of the population and reproductive health package in the developing
countries and countries with economies in transition would cost
US $17 billion by the year 2000. Approximately two thirds of
the projected costs would come from the countries themselves
and one third, or $5.7 billion, would come from the international
donor community.
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Financial Resource Flows for Population Activities is a UNFPA
report previously published under the title of Global Population
Assistance Report, that monitors progress in achieving the financial
resource targets required for implementing the Programme of
Action of the International Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) agreed to in Cairo in 1994. The report provides information
on trends in bilateral, multilateral and foundation/NGO assistance
to population activities in developing countries and estimates
of domestic expenditures reported by developing countries.
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The Cairo goal of mobilizing $17 billion for population activities
by the year 2000 has not been met. Both donor and developing
countries have a long way to go before reaching the financial
targets of the ICPD. International population assistance totalled
$2.6 billion in 2000, the latest year for which information
is available. Population assistance from donor countries represented
2.93 per cent of official development assistance in 2000. The
top five donors in 2000 were: the United States, the Netherlands,
the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany.
- In 2000, 144 countries benefited from international population
assistance. Sub-Saharan Africa received the largest share of assistance
(44 per cent), followed by Asia and the Pacific (32 per cent),
Latin America and the Caribbean (13 per cent), Western Asia and
North Africa (9 per cent), and Eastern and Southern Europe (2
per cent). Most domestic resource flows originate in a few large
countries. The majority of developing countries are not in a position
to generate the necessary funds to cover the cost of their population
programmes. Many Governments, as well as national NGOs, rely heavily
on external assistance to finance population activities. Each
year data is collected for past fiscal year and the outputs are
presented to the following year’s session of the Commission
on Population and Development.
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