News

News from Population Matters.

  • Sierra Leone woman with baby banner

    Tanzanian president: “birth control is for the lazy”

    UPDATE 25 September 2018 Since this story was written, the Tanzanian government has ordered a US health charity to withdraw television advertisements promoting family planning. This worrying development suggests that…

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    Wildlife under threat – UK hedgehog numbers plummet

    A recent large-scale hedgehog survey across Britain’s rural areas found an alarmingly low number of animals, bolstering earlier research indicating a steep decline. An iconic animal in the UK, the…

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    Egypt seeks fewer babies: South Korea wants more

    Egypt’s government has announced welcome plans to curb its rapid population growth as part of its 2018-2022 medium-term sustainable development plan. Meanwhile, South Korea is adopting policies to increase its…

  • Chinese kids banner

    China may move to end two-child policy

    The Chinese government may be steering away from its two-child policy amid concerns over the economic effects of a shrinking birth rate. These rumours were sparked by a social media…

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    Population growth puts green belts under housing pressure

    A new report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) published earlier this month revealed that under current council policies, 460,000 new homes could be built on ‘green belt’…

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    Why isn’t one Earth enough?

    Today is Earth Overshoot Day – the symbolic day in the year when we have exceeded the Earth’s capacity to sustain us. Just seven months into 2018, according to calculations…

  • Making our mark on World Population Day

    On World Population Day 2018, Population Matters took to the streets of London with a truck-mounted mobile digital display of the “population clock” – global population growth live. People reacted…

  • Scientists Warn banner

    20,000 scientists ignored – time for action

    Last November, 15,000 scientists urged governments to act to avoid what they bluntly called “widespread misery and catastrophic biodiversity loss”. They identified population growth as a “primary driver” of our global environmental…

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    Poll: 74% want to see a UK population strategy

    According to a national YouGov poll commissioned by Population Matters, 74% of UK adults believe the government should have a national strategy for addressing population, while 64% think the rate…

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    Population and family size – tapping into the zeitgeist?

    The past few months have seen an unprecedented level of attention on population and family size in the media. With articles in The Times, the Washington Post, the New York Times, The Guardian, the BBC,…