New Releases

Unfinished Business: the pursuit of rights and choices for all

This year’s State of the World Population (SWOP) report comes at the 50th anniversary of the creation of UNFPA, the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, and the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The report analyzes the progress the world has made regarding the promises of the ICPD including putting individuals in charge of their own reproductive decisions and empowering women and girls as a precondition for development. The report also identifies areas of improvement and tells stories of women who lived through the transformative decades since the promises of the ICDP were first made.

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Humanitarian Action Overview 2019

The year 2018 was another challenging period for millions of women and girls whose lives have been upended by conflict, hazards, pandemics and displacement. A staggering 136 million people needed aid, an estimated 34 million of whom were women of reproductive age; 5 million of those women were pregnant.

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Gender Justice & the Law: Libya

UNFPA, in partnership with UNDP, UN Women, and ESCWA, has conducted a study on Gender Justice and the Law in the Arab States region to provide a comprehensive assessment of laws and policies affecting gender equality and protection against gender-based violence in the Arab states region. The study is composed of an introductory piece that describes the background, rationale, analytical framework and methodology, and a total of 18 country profiles. Each country profile maps the country’s key legislative and policy developments regarding gender justice. This country profile presents the findings of the study relating to Libya.

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State of World Population 2018

Not so long ago, most people had large families: five children, on average. Where once there was one global fertility rate, today there are many, with differences wider than at any point in human history.

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UNFPA Annual Report 2017

Year on year, millions of women and adolescents in 155 countries and territories have been progressively able to exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This is in no small measure as a result of UNFPA programmes and activities.

The UNFPA strategic plan for 2014-2017 set ambitious targets for increasing access to sexual and reproductive health services. These services have empowered millions of women to make their own decisions about whether, when or how often to become pregnant. They have enabled millions of teenagers to avoid unplanned pregnancy, and to make safe and healthy transitions to adulthood. And they have slowed the unnecessary and cruel tide of maternal death.

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Libyan Youth Today: Opportunities and Challenges

Libya has witnessed unprecedented youth momentum in terms of size and proportion, which presents a unique opportunity to invest in peace and development efforts. This is all the more true that the profiles of the new generation in terms of education, health, vitality and other characteristics are outstanding, both for males and females, and far superior to those of the previous ones. The interest expressed by the new generation for community issues, their home country, and public and political affairs, and its readiness to participate in promoting dialogue and peace, and in strengthening state institutions, democracy and the transitional process in general appears to be strong, as reflected in the findings of recent field consultations carried out with the youth.

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Population aging and policy options in the Arab region

The number of older people is growing fast in the Arab Region. According to the UN Population Division, the region’s population aged 60 and older (60+) is going to almost double in 15 years, increasing from 27 million in 2015 to 50 million in 2030, and by 2045, increasing to more than 80 million. 

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State of the World Population Report 2017

UNFPA’s Worlds Apart report calls for actions that lead to a brighter future, where all women govern their own lives, have equal access to sexual and reproductive health care and have the knowledge, skills and power to find gainful employment.

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State of the World Population Report 2016

When a girl reaches age 10, her world changes. A flurry of life-changing events pulls her in many directions. Where she ends up depends on the support she receives and the power she has to shape her own future. In some parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl, on the verge of adolescence, sees limitless possibilities ahead and begins making choices that will influence her education and, later, her work and her life. But in other parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl’s horizons are limited. As she reaches puberty, a formidable combination of relatives, figures in her community, social and cultural norms, institutions and discriminatory laws block her path forward. By age 10, she may be forced to marry. She may be pulled out of school to begin a lifetime of childbearing and servitude to her husband. At 10, she may become property, a commodity that can be bought and sold.

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