Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment

What Countries Are NOT Headed for Two Children per Woman?

Monday, April 8th, 2013 Posted in Population Basics, Reproductive Health

by Carl Haub, senior demographer In a population projection, it’s customary to assume that all countries with higher birth rates will see their total fertility rate (TFR, or the average number ... Read more..

Demographic Dividend: Structure Counts!

Thursday, March 28th, 2013 Posted in Population Basics, Reproductive Health

This is the second in a series of blogs posts on the Sixth Joint Annual Meetings of the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development; and ... Read more..

Toward a Demographic Dividend

Thursday, March 28th, 2013 Posted in Income/Poverty, Population Basics

This is the first in a series of blogs posts on the Sixth Joint Annual Meetings of the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development; and ... Read more..

An Older, Slower-Growing U.S. Population

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 Posted in Population Basics, Race Ethnicity

by Mark Mather, associate vice president, Domestic Programs The United States is on a new demographic trajectory: The population is set to reach 400 million by 2051, 12 years later ... Read more..

Reports That the U.S. Birth Rate in 2011 Was the Lowest in History Are, Well, Wrong

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 Posted in Reproductive Health

by Carl Haub, senior demographer Several newspapers, blogs, and websites have proclaimed that the U.S. “birth rate” in 2011 was the lowest since records have been kept. But it wasn’t. The ... Read more..

Côte d’Ivoire 2011-2012 DHS-MICS Shows Stagnant Fertility Decline But Steady Decline in Infant and Child Mortality

Thursday, September 13th, 2012 Posted in Population Basics, Reproductive Health

by Carl Haub, senior demographer The latest Cote d’Ivoire 2011-2012 DHS-MICS is the fourth DHS in the country since 1994 and shows a stall in fertility decline for at least 12 ... Read more..

U.S. Births Down Again, But For How Long?

Friday, July 27th, 2012 Posted in Population Basics

by Carl Haub, senior demographer The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has reported preliminary birth statistics for 2011 and the downward trend in U.S. fertility noted earlier has continued. ... Read more..

Managing Population, Achieving Development: Malawi’s Challenge and Opportunity

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 Posted in PRB News, Reproductive Health

by Jay Gribble, vice president, International Programs Sitting in the conference hall of the Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, as the National Leaders Conference on Family Planning, Population, and Development ... Read more..

Dramatic Differences in Childbearing by Age in U.S., Japan, and South Korea

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 Posted in Population Basics

by Carl Haub, senior demographer The very low Total Fertility Rates (TFRs, the average number of children a woman would bear in her lifetime if the birth rate of a ... Read more..

Quick Takes: Fertility, Infant Mortality, and HIV in Uganda; Fewer Babies in Czech Republic; Urban U.S. Population Growth

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 Posted in HIV/AIDS, Population Basics

by Carl Haub, senior demographer News from Uganda. Press reports quote the Bureau of Statistics of Uganda (UBOS) with leaked data from the not-yet-released 2011 Demographic and Health Survey. The country’s ... Read more..