World Population Day

In 1989, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program recommended that July 11 be observed by the international community as World Population Day, a day to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987-approximately the date on which the world's population reached five billion people.