UN Women. In the Indian state of Bihar, women participate in vocational Xi programmes.
The 2023 Asia-Pacific Population and Development Report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific pointed out that although the Asia-Pacific region has made remarkable progress in social and economic development, it is also facing major challenges. Countries must act now to address emerging demographic trends such as population ageing, low fertility and rising migration.
Home to 60% of the world's population, the Asia-Pacific region has long been at the forefront of significant demographic change. Since the first Asian Population Conference, held in New Delhi in 1963, most countries in the Asia-Pacific region have transitioned from high to low fertility and mortality rates, with increasing migration and more people moving to urban areas.
Over the past few decades, the Asia-Pacific region has made remarkable progress in improving health, nutrition, sanitation, education and housing, as well as eradicating poverty. But now, the region is at a crossroads.
Emerging demographic trends, such as ageing populations, low fertility rates, and rising migration, coupled with the challenges posed by socio-economic inequalities and vulnerabilities, as well as the impacts of climate change, disasters, conflicts, the pandemic, and digital transformation, have forced countries in Asia and the Pacific to take urgent action to address them.
Challenges and opportunities do not exist in isolation
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, said that we should not focus on a single challenge or opportunity related to population and development, but rather consider the interconnectedness of all aspects holistically, and reflect on how our actions or inactions today will affect the lives of current and future generations.
She noted that as life expectancy increases, more people of different ages will live together longer, so building good intergenerational relationships is essential to building an inclusive future where no one is left behind. We need forward-looking policies to ensure shared prosperity for all, now and in the future.
"Given the complexity of demographic trends and their interaction with other socio-economic developments, we must adopt a holistic, rights- and evidence-based approach to address population dynamics and achieve sustainable development," Alishahbana said. The specific needs and impacts of different genders, different age groups and different generations also need to be taken into account when developing strategies and implementing actions. ”
The following is the details of the Asia-Pacific Population and Development Report 2023:
Poverty eradication and employment
Although poverty rates have declined across the Asia-Pacific region, disparities persist and are rising in many countries. Providing decent and productive work for all, especially women, remains a challenge, which also affects poverty. Many Asia-Pacific countries have low female labour force participation rates, mainly in the informal sector. In addition, women are more likely than men to lose their jobs and lose access to government financial support as they do most unpaid domestic and care work. The unemployment rate for young people is usually much higher than for people aged 25 or over.
The Asia-Pacific working-age population aged 15 to 64 is expected to peak at 3.3 billion by the mid-2030s. From 2023 to 2050, the working-age population of 20 Asia-Pacific countries and regions is expected to decrease. Without the development and implementation of appropriate labour and social policies, the decline in the labour force will inevitably have serious economic consequences.
health
The overall health of the Asia-Pacific region has improved significantly. Life expectancy at birth increased from 42.9 years in 1950 to 74.9 years in 2023, an increase of a full 32 years. Over the past decade, core indicators such as mortality have continued to improve despite the impact of the pandemic.
While life expectancy is increasing overall, chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes are becoming more common and have replaced infectious diseases as the leading cause of health problems, disability and death.
The average UHI for most of the more developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region has exceeded 75. Other countries are still far from achieving the SDG target of 100 for universal health coverage by 2030, with many remaining below 50.
© 儿基会/Prashanth Vishwanathan
A pregnant woman undergoes antenatal care at a hospital in Mutak, India.
Sexual and reproductive health
In addition to significant universal and integrated access to quality sexual and reproductive health services and the integration of gender-based violence responses into sexual and reproductive health services, the Asia-Pacific region has also made significant progress in strengthening and respecting reproductive rights and reducing maternal mortality.
Total fertility rates in the region have declined, and in some countries they are now among the lowest in the world, well below one child per woman. However, in some other countries, total fertility rates remain high. There are also significant differences in fertility rates in different parts of the country, with women in rural areas often having significantly higher fertility rates than other women. In addition, the region has made much progress in reducing adolescent fertility in recent decades, but adolescent fertility rates remain high in many countries.
Despite significant declines in maternal mortality, in 2020 many countries had a maternal mortality rate of 100 to 299 per 100,000 live births, particularly in South-East Asia, South and West Asia, and the Pacific. At the same time, HIV continues to have an impact on the region, with 6.5 million people living with HIV in 2022, 300,000 new cases that year, and 150,000 deaths due to AIDS-related diseases.
education
The Asia-Pacific region has also made remarkable achievements in education. Among the 20-24-year-olds, the percentage of those with only lower secondary education has almost halved, while the proportion of the population with a high school degree or higher has increased. However, access to education by income level, gender and place of residence varies widely between and within countries. This has important implications for access to decent work in the future.
UN Women
Women's leadership is one of the main drivers of gender equality globally.
Gender equality and women's empowerment
In most Asia-Pacific countries, female labour force participation rates are lower than men's, and in many countries female labour force participation rates are declining, often because policies do not allow women to reconcile work and family life. As they age, women are at a significant disadvantage over men, as they earn and save less over the years and receive fewer benefits (including pensions) accordingly.
The pandemic has exacerbated the employment situation for many, including women. Gender issues are also often intertwined with issues such as health, poverty and employment, often adversely affecting women.
In addition, women disproportionately bear the burden of unpaid caregiving, which limits their employment opportunities. Women are also underrepresented in political and senior management positions.
Teens and young adults
Despite declining fertility rates across the region, the region's youth population (aged 15-24) still accounts for 56% of the world's youth population, with a total of more than 700 million. Improving education is essential to enhance countries' ability to take advantage of the demographic dividend. It is equally important to provide access to health, education and decent employment for all youth.
Children and adolescents aged 10-14 are often the most marginalized, most likely to drop out of school, marry early, and most at risk of mental health problems. In addition, the specific needs of adolescents and other young people are often not adequately addressed in areas such as comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services.
In addition, 24.8 per cent of the region's youth are not educated, employed or trained, and the proportion of women in this group is significantly higher than that of men. This shows that the labour market is constrained and does not take into account the social and gender norms that affect young women.
UNFPA Viet Nam
Vietnamese elderly.
Aging
The number of people aged 60 or over in Asia Pacific is expected to double to 1.3 billion by 2050, from 697 million in 2023. Even in regions with a relatively young age structure of the population, the elderly population is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades.
The region's population is aging particularly rapidly due to a sharp decline in fertility compared to the rest of the world. It also means that the region must prepare quickly to cope with the impact of ageing on public finances, health care and other services, as well as to ensure the provision of accessible infrastructure.
The pandemic has exacerbated gaps in the protection of key human rights of older persons, such as age-based discrimination, lack of autonomy and participation in decision-making, inability to escape violence, neglect and abuse. These rights violations often exacerbate the health, social and economic conditions and overall well-being of older persons.
International migration
Within the Asia-Pacific region, there has been a great deal of international migration between countries. Large numbers of people, especially men, migrate from South and South-West Asia to the Middle East in search of job opportunities. In the region, most migration is associated with the search for work. In addition, people also choose to migrate in pursuit of better educational opportunities or for family reunification.
About 50 per cent of immigrants are women. The number of women immigrants is expected to continue to rise as the demand for workers in highly feminized industries such as healthcare, domestic work, entertainment, manufacturing, and textiles increases.
At the end of 2022, there were about 7.9 million refugees and people in refugee status in the Asia-Pacific region. Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and Bangladesh host 91 per cent of refugees and people in refugee status in the region, many of whom are children.
劳工组织/Apex Image
Migrant workers move steel bars at a construction site in Qatar.
Urbanization and internal migration
More than 50% of the population of the Asia-Pacific region lives in urban areas. The Pacific and North and Central Asia regions are already highly urbanized, and other subregions are now rapidly urbanizing, particularly in East and North-East Asia. In 2020, 19 of the world's 30 largest cities were located in the Asia-Pacific region, with a total population of 360 million. By 2035, five of the world's six most populous cities are expected to be in the Asia-Pacific region. However, urbanization in most countries is mainly concentrated in small and medium-sized towns.
Disasters are a major driver of forced internal migration, and climate change has further exacerbated the phenomenon. East and South-East Asia have the largest number of people displaced by disasters, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total for the entire Asia-Pacific region, followed by South Asia. In 2022, 90% of displacement in the subregion was caused by floods. Flood-related displacement has been recorded in all countries in the Asia-Pacific region, with Pakistan, India and Bangladesh being the hardest hit. In Pakistan, record-breaking torrential rains and floods from July to September 2022 inundated 10% of the country, triggering the highest level of displacement in a decade, with 8.2 million people displaced in 2022 alone, almost two-thirds of the total number of people displaced in the subregion.
Population and sustainable development
The Asia-Pacific region is the region most vulnerable to climate disasters, and at the same time, the frequency and intensity of these disasters are increasing. The people of the region are highly dependent on natural resources and agriculture and often live in densely populated coastal areas. Many countries have weak institutions and lack social protection measures. Poverty remains widespread.
The region faces numerous environmental threats, including chronic disasters caused by rising sea levels and drought, as well as sudden disasters such as typhoons, hurricanes, and food. In 2021, more than 100 natural disasters occurred in Asia, 80% of which were floods and storms, resulting in about 4,000 deaths. Overall, 48.3 million people were directly affected, causing $35.6 billion in economic losses.
Photo provided by Zhu Xiaoyi
An e-commerce company in Shanghai.
suggestion
The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads. Significant progress has been made in socio-economic development, but major challenges are present. In order to capture the opportunities and challenges of demographic dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region, the report makes a series of overarching recommendations.
- Follow a holistic, people-centred, rights-based and gender-sensitive approach;
- addressing population and development issues from a life-cycle perspective;
- strengthening intergenerational relationships and solidarity;
- expanding health care coverage;
- providing universal social protection throughout the life cycle;
- building a "future-ready" education system that opens the way for decent work and flexible work environments;
- enhancing gender equality and women's empowerment;
- Prioritise low-carbon development pathways, focusing on developing strategies for climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience to disasters, leaving no one behind;
- strengthening the collection, analysis and dissemination of national and subnational disaggregated data;
- ensure that data and information on population dynamics and projections inform policy-making and public debate;
- strengthening partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders;
- Provide a non-discriminatory, safe and inclusive enabling environment for the participation of civil society and community-based organizations;
- promoting regional cooperation, including South-South and triangular cooperation;
- ensure adequate funding;
- Ensure that governments and leadership recognize the importance of population and development issues and commit to action.