The UN Reveals the Latest Trends in World Population

Every two years, since 1951, the United Nations has compiled data and estimates about the world's population. These are contained in a report called World Population Prospects, which provides our best estimates about global population and demographic trends. The latest edition of World Population Prospects was released in June, and joining me today is one of the people responsible for putting this report together. John Wilmoth is Director of the Population Division at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He last joined us two years ago after the previous iteration of this report was released. We will discuss what has changed, or not, from the estimates of two years ago, why we should be paying attention to rapidly aging populations in East Asia, and what we mean by the "demographic dividend" that many countries in Africa are poised to harness.