The Policy Section is responsible for global monitoring of government views and policies on key population issues, such as population size and growth, population age structure, fertility, reproductive health and family planning, health and mortality, spatial distribution, and internal and international migration. Monitoring of government views and policies on population issues is important for tracking progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and other internationally agreed development goals that are related to population, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Policy Section is also responsible for implementing the United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development, established in 1963 at the request of the Commission on Population and Development. Between 1963 and 2015, the Secretary-General has conducted 11 rounds of the Inquiry. The Inquiries have been a unique and invaluable research tool in monitoring national population policies. The Eleventh United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development was launched in 2014.
The Policy Section has created and maintains a comprehensive World Population Policies Database, going back to the mid-1970s.
The World Population Policies Database, last updated in 2015, provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on the population policy situation and trends for all Member States and non-member States of the United Nations. The Database is updated biennially by conducting a detailed country-by-country review of national plans and strategies, programme reports, legislative documents, official statements and various international, inter-governmental and non-governmental sources, as well as by using official responses to the United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development. The web-interface for the Database allows users to run custom data queries on population policies and selected demographic and socioeconomic indicators for all countries and selected time points since the mid-1970s, create graphs and maps, and generate country profiles.
Publications
- Population Facts No. 2017/10, December 2017 - Government policies to raise or lower the fertility level
- Policies to influence fertility and promote work-family balance: Infochart
- International Migration Policies: Data Booklet
- Reproductive Health Policies 2017: Data Booklet
- Population Facts No. 2017/7, December 2017 - Policies on international migration
- Policy Briefs: Policy Responses to Low Fertility
- Abortion Policies and Reproductive Health around the World - [report]
- Compendium of Recommendations on Population and Development, Vol. I - [report]
- Compendium of Recommendations on Population and Development, Vol. II - [report]
- Reproductive Health Policies 2014 - [wallchart]
- Despite overall expansion in the legal grounds for abortion, policies remain restrictive in many countries - [population facts]
- World Population Policies 2013 - [report]
- International Migration Policies : Government Views and Priorities - [report]
- World Population Policies 2013 - [report]
- Population Facts No. 2013/5, September 2013 - Changing Landscape of International Migration Policies
- Population Facts No. 2013/1, July 2013 - Changes in Government Views and Policies on Population since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
- International Migration Policies 2013 - [wallchart]
- World Abortion Policies 2013 - [wallchart]
- World Population Policies 2011 - [report]
- World Fertility Policies 2011 - [wallchart]
- World Abortions Policies 2011 - [wallchart]
- Population Facts No. 2010/1, Jan 2010 - Speeding progress on the Millennium Development Goals
Events
- Measuring the SDG Indicator on Countries with Well-Managed Migration Policies Bangkok, Thailand, 8 November 2017 (ESCAP)
- Measuring the SDG Indicator on Countries with Well-Managed Migration Policies Santiago, Chile, 29 August 2017 (ECLAC)
- Expert Group Meeting on Policy Responses to Low Fertility New York, 2-3 November 2015
- Panel Discussion: Contribution of Population Policy to the Achievement of the Internationally Agreed Development Goals including the Millennium Development Goals New York, 15 December 2008
- Expert Group Meeting on Policy Responses to Population Ageing and Population Decline New York, 16-18 October 2000
Data/Interactive Data
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World Population Policies Database
An interactive online database containing population policy information for all countries since the mid-1970s.