Population dynamics are inextricably linked to some of the world’s greatest challenges, including poverty and environmental sustainability. And at the root of population dynamics are individual choices and opportunities – or lack of choices and opportunities. Results from the ECONPOP research program provide additional insight into how social and health policies can affect population growth and migration. Such policies also shape education and health of the future labor force.

From 2009 through 2015, the Research Council of Norway supported research on how poverty, economic growth, and cultural conditions interact with reproductive health and population dynamics in low-income settings, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Research conducted in Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Kenya, Nepal, Senegal, and Tanzania also supported students or researchers from these countries, thereby building local capacity to address population and reproductive health challenges.