UNFPA’s State of World Population report has been published annually since 1978. Each year, the report focuses on questions of current interest and concern for the future.

This year’s State of World Population Report, Reaching Common Ground: Culture, gender and Human Rights, examines the role of culture, gender and human rights in programming for development.

This report calls on governments and individuals to recognize and value the role of culture, gender and human rights in achieving common understanding and producing quality programmes for development taking into account the cultural peculiarities of each society.

In addition to the main report, UNFPA launched Generation of Change: Young People and Culture, a special companion volume that explores the major topic of the report through the words of youth. It is a report that brings to life, through first-person accounts, the issues raised in the State of World Population.

The youth report is a fairly new initiative that will become, henceforth, a joint annual report. As an organization that also specifically focuses on youth, UNFPA wants to give voice to their dreams, aspirations, challenges and hopes.

UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. The Fund supports countries in using population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.