Although population growth has decelerated in most countries, the world’s population is still growing at a high rate. Without a significant and rapid drop in fertility rates it could reach 16 billion by 2100, according to the latest projections of the United Nations Population Division. Population growth, coupled with higher consumption, raises the stakes in our efforts to reduce poverty, create employment, provide food, water and energy security, while safeguarding the natural environment. These facts were well-known nearly 20 years ago when, shortly after the 1992 Rio Declaration, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action outlined a two-pronged approach to promote sustainable development. This approach called for a shift towards sustainable production and consumption, together with appropriate policies to address demographic change. Yet action is long overdue. To promote sustainable development pathways, developing countries and their partners will need to ensure: i) universal access to sexual and reproductive health care and family planning; ii) investment in education with a particular focus on gender parity; iii) empowerment of women; and iv) systematic integration of population projections in development strategies and policies.