World Population Day Focuses on Youth and Young Women

July 11, 2006 -- World Population Day, on July 11, focuses this year on young people, particularly young women, and ways to enhance their social status in the world through education and empowerment. Nearly half of the world's population is under 25 years old, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

The United Nations created World Population Day to turn attention toward improving the lives and choices of individuals worldwide. Approximately 238 million, or 22.5 percent, of the world's total youth population in 2000 survived on less than a dollar a day. And 82 million girls in developing countries who are now ages 10 to 17 will be married before their 18th birthday. Better access to education and health care including access to family planning, is the starting point for a better future for the 1.5 billion young people who live in the developing world.

Several National Research Council reports deal with population and demographic issues. Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries focuses on how the process of globalization affects the transitions to adulthood for youth in developing countries. Reproductive Health in Developing Countries: Expanding Dimensions, Building Solutions examines a number of reproductive issues and discusses effective interventions. Beyond Six Billion: Forecasting the World's Population examines the assumptions behind world population projections and looks at whether they can be improved.

• Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries (2005)
• Reproductive Health in Developing Countries: Expanding Dimensions, Building Solutions (1997)
• Beyond Six Billion: Forecasting the World's Population (2000)

• United Nations Population Fund, World Population Day