Despite ongoing declines in fertility in many countries, the population of the world is experiencing a period of rapid expansion, and its size is expected to reach 10 billion by the end of the demographic transition. Three causes of this growth are identified and quantified: 1) fertility above...

The majority of populations in the Sub Saharan Africa region are growing rapidly. In some countries, where the average woman continues to have seven or more births, growth is as rapid as 4 percent a year. The population of the region as a whole is likely to double in slightly more than two...

Recent trendsin demographic indicators in the countries of the Europe, Middle East, and North Africa region show the distinctions among its three subregions: (a) in Europe, low levels of fertility, mortality, and population growth persist; (b) in North Africa, fertility has started to decline in...