New Stuff from UN Population Division

The United Nations Population Division has just released two new data products of interest to all demographers. The first of these is a wallchart (like the PRB's Population Data Sheet) of abortion policies in countries of the world as of 2013. Most striking to me is the very clear divide on abortion on demand between the richer countries (where abortion is generally available), and less developed countries (where abortion is generally less available).

The second new item is the World Population Policies 2011 report, including country profiles with policy information on population growth, age structure, fertility, reproductive health and family planning, health and mortality, spatial distribution and internal migration, and international migration for all countries dating back to the mid-1970s. Abortion policies are obviously a part of the overall population policy package, but in this package of data the key item over time, in my opinion, is the attitude of governments toward population growth in general, as well as specific aspects of demographic change. For example, among the 49 least developed countries in the world, not a single one thinks its population growth is too slow, whereas among the 49 more developed nations, 26 think that population growth is too low.