The Asian and Pacific region is home to over 4 billion people, more than 60 per cent of the world's population.

The region's share in the global population has not changed since 1990, but the absolute number of people has increased by 760 million, which is almost double the present population of North America. Of the 10 most populated countries in the world, 7 are in Asia and the Pacific.

China and India are the most populated countries in the world, with populations of 1.3 billion and 1.1 billion, respectively. Half of the region's population lives in these two countries. Indonesia, the fourth most populated country in the world, is home to more than 228 million people.

Between 1990 and 2006, the population of Asia and the Pacific has grown at half the rate of Africa - the region with the fastest growth. Latin America and the Caribbean has grown at almost the same pace as Asia and the Pacific, while in Europe and North America population growth has stagnated since 1990.

Figure 1.1 Population growth for selected groups of Asian and Pacific countries/areas, 1990-2006

The highest population growth within Asia and the Pacific has taken place in small island developing States, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and SAARC member countries, as shown in figure 1.1. Small island developing States have grown at an average rate of over 2 per cent since the early 1990s. In fact, out of the 10 countries with the highest population growth rates Asia and the Pacific, 6 are small island developing States.

Figure 1.2 Average annual population growth rate in Asia and the Pacific, 1990-1995 and 2000-2005

The Northern Mariana Islands recorded the highest population growth rate among small island developing States from 2000 to 2005, while the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Brunei Darussalam, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu have also seen their populations increase, at rates of over 2 per cent per year.

The population of Central Asia has barely changed, with Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan actually experiencing a decline in the number of citizens. The population of the Russian Federation decreased by over 5 million people between 1990 and 2006, largely due to a long period of low fertility, which has been less than 1.5 children per woman since the early 1990s.

The Asian and Pacific region has the lowest fertility rate among developing regions - an average total fertility rate of 2.4 children per woman, which is down from 2.9 in 1990-1995. Africa, in contrast, has a fertility rate of 5, while the rates in North America and Europe are 2 and 1.4 children per woman, respectively - below the 2.1 replacement rate.

Fertility in landlocked developing countries, least developed countries, small island developing States and the SAARC region is 3.3 children per woman or above. All of these country groupings registered a fall in total fertility rates between 1990 and 2006, as did ASEAN member countries and Central Asian countries, whose fertility rates decreased from an average of 3 children per woman in 1990 to their current levels of 2.5 and 2.4, respectively.

The lowest fertility rates in Asia and the Pacific are found in Central Asian and high-income countries and areas; noteworthy examples are Macao, China, and Hong Kong, China, which have rates below 1 child per woman, as shown in figure 1.3. On the other hand, Afghanistan (7.5) and Timor-Leste (7), along with various small island developing States (over 4), have the highest fertility rates in the region.

Similarly, crude birth rates in Asia and the Pacific have come down at a faster pace than in any other region. In 1990-1995, there were 24 births per 1,000 population, compared with 19 in 2000-2005. Birth rates in low-income economies fell more than in any other income grouping in the region but remained at high levels in comparison with middle- and high-income economies.

The highest birth rates were recorded in Afghanistan, at 49 per 1,000 people, and Timor-Leste, with close to 42 per 1,000 people. Many small island developing States also have birth rates over 30 per 1,000. On the other hand, crude birth rates in all Central Asian countries fell between 1990-1995 and 2000-2005.

Figure 1.3 Fertility rate in Asia and the Pacific, 1990-1995 and 2000-2005

Lower fertility has been followed by lower mortality in the region as a whole. Asia and the Pacific recorded a decrease in its crude death rate from 8.5 to 7.8 deaths per 1,000 people between 1990-1995 and 2000-2005. This contrasts sharply with the rates in Africa and Europe ; at 13.9 and 10.6 deaths per 1,000 people, respectively, they are the highest in the world.

Only 10 countries in Asia and the Pacific registered an increase in death rates between 1990-1995 and 2000-2005. Among those with the largest increases are the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, where the crude death rate moved from 6 to 9 per 1,000 people, and the Russian Federation, where the rate increased from 13 to 16 per 1,000 people during the same period.

Although Afghanistan registered a decrease in its death rate, it still has the highest death rate in the region, at 21 per 1,000 people, and the fourth highest in the world, after Sierra Leone, Angola and Zambia.

The dependent population is the share of children aged 0 to 14 and adults 65 years and above as a percentage of the total population. Longer expected life spans have translated into an increase in the dependent population in many countries, while higher fertility rates commonly contribute to higher shares of children aged 0 to 14.

Children aged 0 to 14 account for 36 per cent of the total population of landlocked developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States, compared with the regional average of 29 per cent. In Africa, children in this age group account for 42 per cent of the total population.

The largest decline in the share of the population under age 15 took place in the ASEAN region and Central Asia, from over 36 per cent in 1990, to around 29 per cent by 2006. Between 1990 and 2006, the share of children below 15 years of age increased in only 13-mostly African-countries. Afghanistan and Timor-Leste were the only Asian and Pacific countries among them.

The share of adults over 65 years of age, on the other hand, has increased in Asia and the Pacific. In 1990, 5.9 per cent of the total population of Asia was over 65 years old, but by 2006 this proportion had increased to 8.4 per cent. Among all regions, only Europe and North America have higher shares of senior citizens, at 16.8 and 12.4 per cent, respectively.

In the high-income economies of the region, close to 18 per cent of the total population is over the age of 65, up from 11 per cent in 1990. In other income groups, this proportion is far lower: 8 per cent in middle-income economies and 5 per cent in low-income economies.

Figure 1.4 Crude death rate in Asia and the Pacific, 1990-1995 and 2000-2005

Central Asian countries had the largest increase in the relative size of this population group, to 7.7 per cent in 2006 from 5.5 per cent in 1990. Within this subregion, the share of the 65-plus age group in Armenia, Georgia and the Russian Federation rose to over 12 per cent during this period.

Overall, the share of the dependent population - those aged below 15 and 65 and above - in Asia and the Pacific declined between 1990 and 2006. The share of the dependent population increased in only four countries in the region: Afghanistan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan and Timor-Leste. In the case of Afghanistan and Timor-Leste, this was due to an increase in the share of the young population, while in the case of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Japan it was due to a rise in share of the aging population.

Higher female life expectancy is reflected in the sex ratio (females to males) normally tilting towards females at successively older age cohorts. The ratio of girls to boys is usually lower than that of females to males in the general population. However, at just 92 (in percentage terms), the ratio of girls to boys in Asia and the Pacific is particularly low and has been decreasing during the last 16 years. In Africa, for example, the ratio is 98 and has been at that level since 1990.

The ratios of girls to boys in China and India tilt the Asian and Pacific average towards a larger number of boys. In India, there are less than 92 girls for every 100 boys, and in China there are even fewer: just 86 girls per 100 boys. China, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, has the lowest ratio of girls to boys in the world. Moreover, China has recorded a decline in this ratio, from 91 girls per 100 boys in 1990 to its latest level.

Although the sex distribution is somewhat less skewed towards boys at older age cohorts, Asia and the Pacific is the only region in the world with a female to male ratio of less than 100. In 2006, there were 96 women per 100 men, a figure that has not changed since the early 1990s.

In Latin America and the Caribbean as well as North America, there were 103 women per 100 men in 2006, while in Europe there were 106 women per 100 men. Within the Asian and Pacific region, Central Asia has the highest proportion of women to men, at 105, compared with the SAARC region, which, at 94, is below the regional average.

Figure 1.5 Proportion of children aged 0-14 in total population in Asia and the Pacific, 1990 and 2006

Among countries with a higher number of women than men, the highest proportion is 130 women for every 100 men and belongs to the Northern Mariana Islands, which has registered one of the most pronounced changes in this respect since 1990, when there were 91 women for every 100 men. The country's demographic transformation is mainly due to an influx of female guest workers who are predominantly employed in the garment industry.

Figure 1.6 Female population in Asia and the Pacific, 1990 and 2006

Figure 1.7 Difference in life expectancy at birth between females and males in Asia and the Pacific, 1990-1995 and 2000-2005

Globally, women live longer than men, and this is also the case for Asia and the Pacific. Female life expectancy in the region is 70 years, while male life expectancy is 66 years. For both men and women, life expectancy in the Asian and Pacific region has increased by the same number of years - three - for all country income groups, which suggests that a higher income is not the only determinant of better health.

Among country groupings, however, disparities are evident. ASEAN recorded the highest increase in female as well as male life expectancy, by five and four years, to 71 and 66 years, respectively. In least developed countries, life expectancy rose by four years for both sexes, but despite this, they still have the lowest life expectancy in Asia and the Pacific, at 61 years for women and 58 for men.

In landlocked developing countries and Central Asian countries, life expectancy has barely changed. For both women and men, life expectancy rose by only one year in landlocked developing countries, and in Central Asian countries there was almost no change. Moreover, Central Asian countries recorded the largest difference between female and male life expectancy, at eight years, which is equivalent to the difference between the sexes in high-income economies.

Among the five countries with the largest difference between female and male life expectancy, four are in North and Central Asia. In the Russian Federation, women can expect to live 13 years longer than men, while in Kazakhstan women live 11 years longer. In Thailand - the only ASEAN member near the top of the list - women can expect to live a decade longer than men.

Life expectancy in Afghanistan, at 42 years, is not only the lowest in the Asian and Pacific region for both men and women, but it is also more than 20 years below the regional average. This figure contrasts starkly with life expectancy in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong, China, where women can expect to live over 83 years, while men live close to 78 years.