A thematic exhibition “Demographic dynamics and sustainability” dedicated to the World Population Day runs in the Official document department (2nd floor, room 207), from 11 July to 5 September.

This Day is designed to attract the world community’s attention to the demographic problems and their solutions. The Day is observed annually on July 11th, according to the resolution of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program (the UNDP resolution 89/46, p. 21). It was first celebrated in July 1987 and was dedicated to the birth of the fifth billionth earth dweller.

The total number of the world population increased more than twice between 1960 and 1999, reaching a mark of 6 billion in October 1999. In 2011, there were 7 billion people. And although the growth rate declined from 2% to 1.3% between 1969 and 1999, the absolute growth now stands at almost 77 million people per year.

Rapid population growth all over the world has become a major concern for the United Nations. In 1969, a specialized international agency, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was established in the UN system. It manages the United Nations operational activities in the field of population, helping developing countries and countries with economies in transition to find solutions to their demographic problems. In addition, the Fund assists States in improving reproductive health services and family planning through individual choices, as well as in the development of population policies.

The world with population of more than 7 billion people is both a challenge and an opportunity, which involve consequences for a sustainable development, urbanization, health and employment. The numerous crises – food, fuel, environmental, financial – create significant problems and induce the world community to realize the need to pay much more attention to demographic problems and the fundamentals of a sustainable development.

The population of the Republic of Belarus was 9 million 498 thousand at the beginning of 2016. By this indicator, Belarus ranks 92nd in the world, 17th among European countries, and 6th among the CIS countries. In our country, great attention is paid to solving demographic problems. The third State program "People’s Health and Demographic Security of the Republic of Belarus" for 2016–2020 has already been approved and is being implemented. The program provides for the improving the health of population, broadening awareness of risk factors that threaten health, promoting healthy lifestyles, developing and strengthening family values, reducing mortality and increasing longevity. Since 2015, for the first time in the last 20 years, there has been an increase in population in our country. The population for our state is not just a figure, but also a strategic resource for the development of the economy and society, a pledge of the future of the nation.

The exhibition offers to readers and visitors of the library a set of documents about demographic trends, estimates and forecasts in the field of population, as well as the world population statistics and population policies.

The exhibition includes the following thematic sections:

demographic activities of international organizations. The UNFPA;
population and a sustainable development;
population size and demographic tendencies: the world statistics;
the demographic situation, human and social capital in the Republic of Belarus.

About 100 documents are on display: books, brochures, periodicals, mimeographed papers. The most part of the exhibition are documents of international organizations in the Russian and English languages.

The exhibition is designed for university teachers, students and postgraduates studying humanities and economics, research workers, specialists in demographics and sociology, representatives of public authorities, and also for everyone who is interested in social, demographic, and economic issues.

Reading list

Useful links