I am pleased to greet the 27th annual conference of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

To ensure sustainable development we need to know how many people inhabit the planet now and how many will be added in the years to come.

We need to know where they live and where they will live in the future.

We need to know how old they are and how age distribution will change.

Population growth and aging, migration and urbanization affect all development objectives…

Poverty reduction, employment and social protection…

Education, housing and sanitation…

Water, food and energy.

The systematic use of demographic data and projections is essential for development planning and policy making.

Such policies must address and harness the realities of population dynamics.

They should be rights-based and gender-responsive to empower women and youth.

They should support universal access to health, including reproductive and sexual health and family planning.

And they should promote sustainable consumption and production that benefits both people and the planet.

Your research and deliberations are fundamental to our common future.

I wish you a productive meeting.