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Sunday, November 15, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Population
INT’L WOMEN’S DAY/CUBA: Rise in Female-Headed Households
The Catholic Church is concerned about the growing number of female-headed households in Cuba, although others see the phenomenon as just one aspect of a trend towards more flexible models of the family./INT’L WOMEN’S DAY/EUROPE: Sex Exploitation of Immigrants Continues
The prosperity and social modernisation of the European Union has given women access to spaces that they were previously denied, but not all are reaping the benefits. Many of the women excluded are undocumented immigrants who are marginalized, mistreated and sexually exploited.INT’L WOMEN’S DAY/ECUADOR: Indian Women – Still a Long Way to Go
The growing number of indigenous women mayors, legislators and even government ministers in Ecuador show the strides made towards attaining political and social leadership roles, but the majority of Indian women have not yet felt the effects of that progress.POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Involvement in Iraq War Breaks Student Apathy
Anti-war protests by Australian students this week, chanting "books not bombs" and "stop this bloody war", reflect a break with the apathy on political issues that has been growing among young people in the last decade.VIETNAM: New Rule on In-vitro Treatment Stirs Old Arguments
-Nguyen Thi No is 45, was once a guerrilla at Cu Chi the fabled tunnel bastion near this southern Vietnamese city used during the war against the United States in the 1970s - and now is determined to have a child.ANGOLA: Thousands Return Home from Portugal
Thousands of Angolans, Portuguese, and Portuguese-Angolans are returning from Portugal to Angola, a country in southwest Africa which two million people fled during four decades of armed conflict that left a death toll of over one million.SRI LANKA: Displaced People Return, but Hungry for Peace
After decades of civil war, this year the migratory birds have returned to the wetlands along the A-9 highway to the north-eastern Jaffna peninsula, every inch of which is scarred with battles fought between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tiger rebels.POLITICS-CAMBODIA: Women Gear up to Test Clout in Poll
While Cambodia's male-dominated political parties prepare for the July national election, the country's only women's media group is gearing up to put the candidates in the hot seat.POLITICS: Washington Remains Vague on Aid Plans for Post-War Iraq
Despite calls from the humanitarian community for the administration of President George W. Bush to articulate its relief plans in the event of war on Iraq, U.S. officials refuse to give details of their efforts, blaming the uncertainty on an unpredictable Saddam Hussein.MEXICO: War on Iraq Would Directly Affect Families of Soldiers in US
Thousands of Mexican families will be directly affected if Washington goes ahead with its plans to launch a military attack on Iraq, because they have sons or brothers who are members of the armed forces in the United States.THAILAND: Legalising Sex Work Has Social Gain – Activists
There are mixed reactions to a recent proposal to legalise prostitution, but activists and sex workers in Thailand say that this would bring not only financial but social gain, by ensuring better protection of rights.SINGAPORE: Gov’t Says ‘Mate and Multiply’, Not all are Impressed
Singapore's government is busy courting people to take romance seriously in order to the curb its low birth rates, but a good number of people are saying they wish the government would leave their individual lives alone.CENTRAL AMERICA: Heated Debate Surrounds Nine-Year-Old Pregnant Girl
The case of a pregnant nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl who was raped in Costa Rica has triggered a heated debate over abortion in the heavily Catholic region of Central America.JAPAN: Infertility Woes Place Spotlight on Law, Counselling
Kazuko is 40, owns a furniture store and is depressed. In her quest to have a baby, she has visited six doctors in two years, looking for a treatment for infertility, but has yet to find a solution that works.LABOUR-ASIA: For Migrants, Coming Home Not Always a Happy Ending
Many Thai migrant workers look forward to coming home after years of hard lives overseas, but not everyone finds a happy ending waiting for them.DEVELOPMENT-CAMBODIA: Urban Poor Enjoy a Rare Luxury – Tap Water
Finally, at the age of 50, Heng Sokhou has begun to enjoy a fact of life that many in Asia and elsewhere have taken for granted for years - a tap with flowing water just a few feet from her bed.POLITICS: India Serious about Deporting Bangladeshi Immigrants
The seriousness with which India regards the issue of 15 million Bangladeshis it claims are residing illegally in this country was reflected in an address to Parliament made Monday by President A P J Abdul Kalam.RIGHTS-INDONESIA: Ethnic Chinese Still Battle State Discrimination
''We're Indonesians. Why do we have to get a citizenship certificate proving that we're Indonesians?'' asks 70-year-old Tjiong Tjoei Liong.REFUGEES: Aid for Palestinians Running Out, Warns U.N.
The United Nations is urging nations to provide money for its Palestinian refugee programme, which risks running out of food for more than one million people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by late March.LABOUR: Migrant Workers’ Convention Not a Magic Solution – Experts
Millions of Asia's migrant workers may have little to celebrate when a U.N. convention upholding their rights comes into force this year, judging from the poor compliance of existing international labour standards, say regional experts.RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Returning Home at Time of Peace Far from Easy
When residents of a refugee camp in Sri Lanka's war-torn northern region refused to return to their former homes during a ceasefire last year, the government closed the camp and a temporary school, and stopped all food rations.« Previous Page — Next Page »
One Thousand Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Relocated from Tomping Camp in South Sudan. Credit: UN Photo/Isaac Billy
It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world’s human population to cross one billion in 1804. Approximately 200 years later, the population has multiplied sevenfold. In 2023, the global population crossed 8 billion, and is expected to reach 9 billion before 2050. With the planet more crowded than ever, it is essential to keep track of population trends, urbanization, migration, and reproduction across the world.
Life expectancy has seen significant strides in the past century, largely due to economic development and increased standards of living. On the contrary, trends in global fertility are shifting, with certain regions in Africa and Asia reporting higher rates, while parts of Europe and North America report stagnant or lower rates. This is in part due to differences in sexual and reproductive healthcare, as well as societal and economic conditions around the world. For example, child marriage is prevalent in certain societies, where childbearing is also considered a familial duty. Meanwhile, stagnating economies frequently experience lower marriage and childbearing rates.
The increase in migration and urban development around the world is also linked to global population trends. By 2050, it is expected that approximately 66 percent of all people will live in cities. Furthermore, global crises such as warfare and natural disasters also prompt transnational migration. Transnational migration is linked to a variety of socioeconomic issues in both host and receiving countries: migrants often leave developing countries with less access to educational and economic opportunities and arrive in developed countries where they are frequently the targets of ethnic, racial, and cultural discrimination, and economic exploitation. Recent crises in Europe and the United States demonstrate the importance of advocating for migrants worldwide. As migrants from the Global South are increasingly stripped of their legal and civic rights in unlawful deportations, or targeted in acts of identity-based violence, it is essential to keep track of population trends and protect the human rights of migrant populations. Climate-related disasters are now a major driver of displacement, with nearly half of all new internal displacements in 2025 being disaster-related.
IPS is devoted to covering issues surrounding population trends, migration, and reproduction through its compelling articles, which use both statistics and human stories to provide readers with robust and informative viewpoints.
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