The Asia region now has more than half the world's population and contributes half the world's annual population growth.

This is the 36th edition of this publication which gives an overview of key development indicators relating to social, economic and environmental data for 208 countries in the form of informative colour maps, charts and tables. Drawing on data from the "World Development Indicators 2004" publication (ISBN 0821357298), it considers a range of topics including: low-income countries and inequalities in world output and income distribution; population growth and changing demographics; the environmental impacts of urbanisation; access to basic education; maternal health; communicable diseases; gender and development; food security; access to safe drinking water and sanitation; forests and biodiversity; energy use; economic growth, trade and investment; debt management; globalisation and service industries; good governance; and development aid.

Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa continue to face major economic and political challenges, including volatile economic growth, low economic diversification, high unemployment levels, and, in some cases, pervasive authoritarian regimes. These economic and political challenges are interdependent, and reform is needed in both spheres if structural, long-lasting change is going to be achieved. This book combines the World Bank’s concept of “good governance” with other analytical tools of political economy – including rent-seeking theory, political settlements approach, the resource curse, and Dutch Disease – to explore how government institutions in the region affect economic reforms and vice versa. The book also examines the role of institutions and performance of governance on rent distribution, evaluating how governments manage their, sometimes-abundant natural resources. In some “rentier states,” governments are clearly utilizing these resources for their own political ends even at the cost of negatively impacting economic growth, job creation, and social service provision. Economic growth is also constrained by low flows of both private and public investment toward productive sectors that need it. The book analyzes the differences between countries in the Middle East and North Africa in their economic and political structures to show how sustainable economic growth and a level of political democratization can be achieved through enhancing governance institutions. This book will be invaluable reading for researchers on the political economy of the Middle East and institutional economics.

The population of the Africa region is growing faster than the population in any other region. It should double in a little more than 20 years.

This four-volume collection of over 140 original chapters covers virtually everything of interest to demographers, sociologists, and others. Over 100 authors present population subjects in ways that provoke thinking and lead to the creation of new perspectives, not just facts and equations to be memorized. The articles follow a theory-methods-applications approach and so offer a kind of "one-stop shop" that is well suited for students and professors who need non-technical summaries, such as political scientists, public affairs specialists, and others. Unlike shorter handbooks, Demography: Analysis and Synthesis offers a long overdue, thorough treatment of the field. Choosing the analytical method that fits the data and the situation requires insights that the authors and editors of Demography: Analysis and Synthesis have explored and developed. This extended examination of demographic tools not only seeks to explain the analytical tools themselves, but also the relationships between general population dynamics and their natural, economic, social, political, and cultural environments. Limiting themselves to human populations only, the authors and editors cover subjects that range from the core building blocks of population change--fertility, mortality, and migration--to the consequences of demographic changes in the biological and health fields, population theories and doctrines, observation systems, and the teaching of demography. The international perspectives brought to these subjects is vital for those who want an unbiased, rounded overview of these complex, multifaceted subjects. Topics to be covered: * Population Dynamics and the Relationship Between Population Growth and Structure * The Determinants of Fertility * The Determinants of Mortality * The Determinants of Migration * Historical and Geographical Determinants of Population * The Effects of Population on Health, Economics, Culture, and the Environment * Population Policies * Data Collection Methods and Teaching about Population Studies * All chapters share a common format * Each chapter features several cross-references to other chapters * Tables, charts, and other non-text features are widespread * Each chapter contains at least 30 bibliographic citations

The 20th century was the century of explosive population growth, resulting in unprecedented impacts; in contrast, the 21st century is likely to see the end of world population growth and become the century of population aging. We are currently at the crossroads of these demographic regimes. This book presents fresh evidence about our demographic future and provides a new framework for understanding the underlying unity in this diversity. It is an invaluable resource for those concerned with the implications of population change in the 21st century. The End of World Population Growth in the 21st Century is the first volume in a new series on Population and Sustainable Development. The series provides fresh ways of thinking about population trends and impacts.