The ability to analyze demographics and interpret census and survey data is increasingly recognized as necessary to formulate social policies in employment, housing, education, health, and nutrition. Such policies, in turn, affect the growth, distribution, and composition of the population. To focus attention on these links and to help develop professionals capable of addressing them, the Foundation since the mid-1970s has supported research and training to foster the inclusion of population issues in social and economic development planning.

This year three grants totaling $425,000 went to the Population Council for continued support of research and fellowships in the Middle East. Since 1978, a semiannual research competition on population and development has made thirty-six awards to researchers from eight countries in the region. Many of the studies have focused on women. Subjects have included female migrant labor in urban Sudan, attitudes toward female vocational training and employment in Jordan, and breast-feeding and fertility in a rural community in Yemen. In the first two years of the fellowship program, twelve awards were made to graduate students and mid-career professionals from seven countries.

To advance demographic analysis in Peru, the Center for the Study and Promotion of Development received a grant for research on labor markets, employment, and migration in metropolitan Lima. In addition, the National Council of Population