DEC. 18, 2019 — The U.S. Census Bureau released new demographic data for 22 countries in the International Data Base. Eleven of these countries are in Africa, five in the Americas, the three in the Middle East, two in Oceania and one in Europe.

New data and analyses were used to refine population estimates and projections for Australia, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Congo (Kinshasa), El Salvador, Ethiopia, Greece, Honduras, Iraq, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Libya, New Zealand, Niger, Pakistan, Syria, Uganda, the United States, and Venezuela.

The current update incorporates newly available data from censuses, surveys, and administrative records, as well as updated analyses based on those data.

Populations are always changing. For some populations, change is gradual. For others—especially those enduring the demographic shocks of war, natural disasters, epidemics, and famine—changes are dramatic, and can reset the course of demographic trends for many years.

Many populations fall between these two extremes and may display slow change at the surface level of total population while experiencing more extreme changes within vulnerable subgroups and important shifts in levels of fertility, mortality, and migration. 

Highlights:

• The populations of Iraq, Syria, and Venezuela estimated at the time of this 2019 update are lower than past International Data Base updates, due in large measure to the integration of new estimates of mortality.
• In Congo (Kinshasa), Mozambique, Niger, and Pakistan, population size estimated in 2019 was revised upward, attributable mainly to adjustments to fertility levels, as indicated by new data and analyses.
• Population levels in Australia, Benin, and Canada estimated for 2019 increased since prior updates, due largely to the impacts of measuring higher levels of immigration.

The International Data Base consists of estimates and projections of demographic indicators, including population size and growth (by sex and single year of age up to 100 and over) and components of change (mortality, fertility, and net migration) for more than 200 countries and areas. The Census Bureau periodically updates the IDB as new data become available.

Estimates and projections from the International Data Base can be found at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/about/idb.html.

###