Impact of population size and structure More than 1 billion young people are between 15 and 24 years of age. More than 580 million people are over 60 years of age, and their numbers are growing at more than 11 million a year. Large increases in population size are projected in many countries for many years to come, despite recent declines in birth rates. With more than 6 billion in 2000, global population continues to grow at 76 million each year. Population movements within and between countries, including very rapid growth of cities and the unbalanced regional distribution of population, will continue and increase in the future.
Poor families are most vulnerable to the lack of social safety nets.
The elderly and children have no choice but to work, parents are forced to leave their children unsupervised and the birth of a child may result in a loss of pay or even in unemployment. In addition, women bear a disproportionate burden when they work outside the home yet carry most of the household work. In rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, urbanization often leads to young people being separated from their grandparents, who previously played a special role in the traditional education and socialization of the young. In the Middle East, traditional extended households are gradually disappearing, as is the case in Egypt, where 84 per cent of all households are now nuclear families. In the United States, the growing number of female-headed households is one factor contributing to the feminization of poverty in that country.