Population and Development

The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals imply that there is no longer any need to reduce global population growth, even though it is a serious problem that undermines most of the SDG targets. By adding a further SDG aimed at slowing the increase in population, the world could yet save the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

A new Lancet study analysing the gap between future fruit and vegetable supply and recommended consumption levels found that even under the most optimistic socioeconomic growth scenarios, there won’t be enough to go around by mid-century.

On World Population Day 2019, Population Matters is bringing that critical message to London, New York and Lagos

A new study reveals that rapid human population growth is the biggest driver of environmental degradation in African countries, highlighting the urgent need for greater investment in family planning as a pathway to achieving biodiversity and sustainable development targets.

From India to sub-Saharan Africa to Britain, local water shortages are turning into a global water crisis due to population pressure and climate change.

According to new UN data, the world’s population is projected to grow by more than 3 billion people by the end of the century, increasing from the current 7.7 bn to 10.9 bn. As in previous years, the data show that small changes in family size translate into a difference of several billion people by the end of the century – just half a child less per couple would see our population peak well before 2100.

A new report reveals the extent of the damage caused by President Trump’s global family planning funding cuts. Vulnerable women and girls around the world are being deprived of vital reproductive healthcare, with devastating consequences.

The latest UNFPA State of the World Population report highlights widespread and persistent gender inequality, with hundreds of millions of women around the world still unable to control how many children they have.

The world is not on track to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals because efforts to implement them have not kept pace with rapid human population growth, according to the United Nations.