Population Geography

Steadily increasing numbers of population-related websites, with constantly changing and expanding information content, are becoming available. We've listed here only a few of the more useful home pages from governmental and nongovernmental agencies, including universities and international organizations.

An efficient way of starting a search for population materials is to use a subject resource guide. Perhaps the most extensive is the World Wide Web Virtual Library-Demography and Population Studies catalog at http://coombs.anu.edu.au/ResFacilities/DemographyPage.html

Leading sources for U.S. population data include: (1) The Census Bureau Home Page, a primary source for official social, economic, and demographic statistics of the U.S. population indexed by subject. It is as well a source of Census Bureau data maps and is linked to other population websites. Selected tables from the latest Statistical Abstract and County and City Data Book are included. Some lengthy reports need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Find it at www.census.gov/. (2) The County and City Data Book page itself yields top U.S. city rankings by population, density, race, foreign-born, infant death rates, and similar criteria: www.census.gov/stat_abstract/ccdb.html. (3) The Census Bureau's State census data centers home pages provide population estimates, employment reports, economic indicators, and other data at state, county, and city levels. Existing state data center websites may be accessed from the single source:www.census.gov/sdc/www/.

Most recent Canadian census data may be found through Statistics Canada at www.statcan.ca/english/census96/list.htm. Be sure to check the Nation Series of reports or go directly to demographic information at www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/People/popula.htm#pop.

World population information is found at a number of sites.

United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN) reports world, regional, and country-level demographic trends, and is a good source for historical world population growth, urbanization, child mortality estimates, AIDS impact, etc. Full-text regional reports and newsletters are also available, including Country Health Profiles of the Pan American Health Organization. The site is linked to many other population home pages and includes a worldwide directory of population organizations and institutions. It is well worth visiting at

www.undp.org/popin/.

The United Nations Population Fund assists developing countries in reproductive health and family planning services. Its website provides on-line access to its current "State of World Population" annual report, to various technical reports and general interest publications, and links to related UN and nongovernmental organization home pages: www.unfpa.org/.

The Population Reference Bureau, a principal source of demographic data used in this book and in many newspaper and journal reports, gives current-year demographic statistics for more than 190 countries in its World Population Data Sheet available on its website as well as the full-text PRB newsletter, Population Today, and a website "hot list" for population matters: www.prb.org.

PopNet, also maintained by the Population Reference Bureau, is dedicated to providing comprehensive data on global population issues. Dubbing itself "the source for global population information," it presents data on such topics as demographic statistics, education, environment, economics, gender, and reproductive health; in addition, it has multiple links to websites of governmental and nongovernmental domestic and international organizations and university centers. PopNet can be reached through the Population Reference Bureau website (above) or directly at its own address: www.popnet.org.

The Statistics Division of the United Nations maintains a page for Social Indicators, minimum data sets covering a number of subjects of interest: www.un.org/Depts/unsd/social/main2.htm. Unicef has a more extensive international view through its Information:Statistics page. National statisical data can be accessed by a country's map location or name; world maps present some data graphically:

www.unicef.org/statis/indexr.htm.

Health and disease topics have their own set of useful home pages. The National Center for Health Statistics website provides information on access to reports and statistics about births, deaths, marriages, fertility rates, etc., at www.cdc.gov/nchswww/. Demographic and Health Surveys is a primary information source on matters of fertility, maternal and child health, and household living conditions in developing countries: www.macroint.com/dhs/. The World Health Organization's website reflects its global perspective, with overviews of health threats from disease, environment, and lifestyle sources at www.who.int/. The WHO's Statistical Information System (WHOSIS) website provides access to statistical data and information available from the WHO and links to other sources of health information elsewhere in electronic and other forms; view it at www.who.int/whosis/.

Valuable sources of comparative internation data including population descriptions and statistics include: The International Programs Center (IPC) of the U.S. Bureau of the Census; it provides a wealth of comparative statistics for all world countries, including population, life tables, migration, ethnicity, language, religion, vital statistics, labor force and economic data, and more. View it at www.census.gov/ftp/pub/ipc/www. Valuable text and statistical supplements to the population appendix in this book are to be found in the CIA World Factbook of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The site contains demographic, economic, and social information for more than 260 countries, including data on population, vital statistics, ethnic composition, religions, languages, net migration, and more.Find it at

www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html.

Population associations and information source guides may help you gain access to other useful databases, bibliographies, and agencies. Following are a few of potential interest:

The Population Association of America reports its activities in its full-text newsletter at www.pop.psu.edu/general/pubs/PAA_Affairs. Internet Resources for Demographers is a collection of demographic Internet sites categorized under "North American Demography," "International Demography," "General Demography," etc.a

View it at http://members.tripod.com/%7Etgryn/demog.html. The Office of Population Research of Princeton University hosts the Population Index on the Web, presenting on-line the most important bibliographic record to the world's population literature taken from the journal Population Index. The database from 1986 onward is searchable by author, subject matter, geographical region, and date: http://popindex.princeton.edu/. Also useful are: the Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG)-Demography at www.sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/demog.html and the Johns Hopkins University Population Information Program Popline, a searchable bibliographic database of over 250,000 records covering worldwide literature on population, family planning, and health issues: www.jhuccp.org/popline.