About the product
The Economic and Social Council at its fourth session, 28 February to 29 March 1947, recommended that the United Nations publish "a demographic yearbook, containing regular series of basic demographic statistics, comparable within and among themselves, and relevant calculations of comparable rates." This action of the Economic and Social Council stemmed from the report of the first session of the Statistical Commission, which had recommended that "demographic data concerning the different countries of the world be assembled and published by the United Nations," and from the report of the first session of the Population Commission, which had stated its belief that "the regular provision of accurate, comparable and comprehensive statistical and other data concerning populations
and population movements is of the greatest importance to the United Nations and to the specialized agencies," and recommended that there be authorized ". . . in addition to any inclusion of population statistics in general annual or other periodic publications of the
United Nations, the publication by the Secretary General of a demographic yearbook."
A sa quatrieme session, qui s'est tenue du 28 fevrier au 29 mars 1947, le Conseil economique et social a recommande dans une resolution que l'Organisation des Nations Unies entreprenne la publication d' "un annuaire contenant des series regulieres de statistiques demographiques de base, comparables entre elles, ainsi que les calculs y afferents de taux comparables." Le Conseil economique et social a pris cette initiative a la suite du rapport de la premiere session de la Commission de statistique, qui avait recommande que "les donnees demographiques relatives aux differents pays du monde soient reunies et publiees par les soins de l'Organisation des Nations Unies," et du rapport de la premiere session de la Commission de la population, qui exprimait l'avis que "la fourniture reguliere de statistiques exactes completes et comparables entre elles, ainsi que de toutes autres donnees concernant les populations et les variations de la population, presente la plus grande importance pour l'Organisation des Nations Unies et les institutions specialisees", et recommandait que l'on autorisat ". . . en plus de toute insertion eventuelle de statistiques demographiques dans les publications generales annuelles ou autres publications periodiques de l'Organisation des Nations Unies, la publication par le Secretaire general d'un annuaire demographique."