Since the onset of modernisation the world population has doubled several times and will soon reach 6 billion of people. The annual rate of increase in the world population is approximately 90 million people. This is the largest absolute level of population growth ever recorded. According to the most recent population projections of the United Nations, the world population will probably double again before stabilising at a stationary level. Ninety percent of the present and future population growth is accounted for by developing countries. The fast increase in the size of the population in many developing countries is a serious obstacle to their attempts to overcome their backwardness, make a substantial improvement to their quality of life, and achieve a sustainable way of exploiting their renewable and non-renewable resources. At the same time, non-sustainable consumption and production patterns in the industrial countries and among wealthy citizens in developing countries, place additional burdens on the planet's natural resources and ecosystems. With a view of considering these problems and elaborating policy guidelines, the United Nations staged its International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt, September 5-13, 1994. This monograph deals with the background to the ICPD, its preparation, proceedings, and contents. It also evaluates its results and recommendations by comparing the ICPD Action Programme with the current scientific literature. The ICPD dealt with the key issues concerning the interrelations between population, development and environment, and their causes, and was not limited to marginal issues such as abortion, promiscuity and homosexuality as was the impression given in the media as a result of the way these questions were distorted by the action of religious fundamentalists. The ICPD Action Programme forms an impressive charter with a broad range of relevant policy recommendations. Nevertheless, compared to most of the current scientific literature, the ICPD seems to underestimate the seriousness and urgency of the issues at stake.

This document is a pocket edition of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. Part 1 of the booklet contains the text of the Programme of Action. Chapter 1 contains the Preamble, and chapter 2 describes the principles upon which the Programme of Action is based. For each of the major headings in the remaining 14 chapters, the basis of action, objectives, and specific actions are presented. Chapter 3 covers the interrelationships between population, sustained economic growth, and sustainable development. Chapter 4 deals with gender equality, equity, and the empowerment of women. The fifth chapter looks at the roles, rights, composition, and structure of the family, and chapter 6 is concerned with population growth and structure. Chapter 7 discusses issues related to reproductive rights and reproductive health, while chapter 8 concentrates on health, morbidity, and mortality. The ninth chapter is devoted to population distribution, urbanization, and internal migration, and chapter 10 focuses on international migration. The relationship of population, development, and education is considered in chapter 11, and research issues are included in chapter 12. Chapters 13-15 relay what is needed in the areas of national action, international cooperation, and partnerships with the nongovernmental sector, respectively, and the final chapter reviews the necessary national, regional, and international follow-up activities. Part 2 of the booklet reproduces the oral and written statements and reservations about the Programme of Action submitted by various countries.