Populations, Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2026) – 5 articles

Infertility affects 10–30% of couples globally, with significant psychological and social impacts in sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility is closely tied to identity and social status. To explore how couples’ understanding of infertility causes influences their treatment-seeking behaviours and healthcare decision-making processes in Ghana, this cross-sectional qualitative study used in-depth interviews with 24 married participants (nine dyads and six individuals) experiencing current or past infertility in Greater Accra, Ghana, from August to October 2023. Data were analysed using thematic analysis with NVivo version 15. Couples demonstrated comprehensive knowledge of infertility causes spanning medical, spiritual, cultural, and lifestyle factors, although they lacked knowledge of clinical diagnostic criteria. Three main treatment pathways emerged: medical/orthodox, herbal, and spiritual interventions, pursued either sequentially or concurrently. Decision-making was influenced by internal factors (treatment effectiveness, financial constraints, and safety concerns) and external factors (family influence and peer testimonials). Four distinct navigation strategies were identified: informed notification, trial periods and evaluation, parallel relationship management, and strategic sequencing. Couples experiencing infertility are sophisticated healthcare consumers who skilfully navigate pluralistic healthcare systems through strategic decision-making. Rather than representing non-compliance, their multimodal approaches reflect rational responses to structural constraints and cultural values. Healthcare systems should recognise and accommodate these navigation strategies to improve therapeutic relationships and outcomes. Full article

China has experienced a population decline since 2022, and its total fertility rate has dropped to about 1.0 in 2025. This is despite the lifting of the one-child policy in 2015 and the pivot to the two-child policy and three-child policy in, respectively, 2016 and 2021. Based on a review of recent research, this paper provides an interpretation that the continued fertility decline reflects a perfect storm of socioeconomic and demographic processes, long-term effects of the one-child policy, and unprecedented social changes in Chinese society. Socioeconomic and demographic changes since the 1950s prepared the ground for the “late, sparse, few” policy, resulting in a sharp fertility decline in the 1970s. While the one-child policy that followed did not result in a fertility decline in the 1980s, its effects appear to be long-lasting, including concentrated investment by the “inverted family” in the only child that drives up society-wide childrearing costs. Significant improvement in women’s educational attainment, individualistic orientation that prioritizes personal goals, increased diversity in family structure, such as one-person households, and changing views about getting married and having children have all contributed to continued downward pressure on fertility. These findings hint at the relevance of the concept of the second demographic transition for China and suggest that policy is only effective if it is aligned with what people want. Full article

Recent policy reports and state briefs continue to highlight the trend of out-migration from California. This outflow has been pronounced over the last three years, revealing a substantial net loss (i.e., net migration) of approximately 740,000 residents. However, there has been comparatively less emphasis on new residents moving to California. Over the past decade, California has attracted substantial in-migration from both domestic and international sources with annual inflows often exceeding 300,000 individuals. As such, studying in-migration is noteworthy as it shapes economic, political, and social landscapes. In-migration can alter the demographic profiles of regions, thereby impacting community dynamics, cultural diversity, and the provision of social services. Using pooled data from the American Community Survey (ACS) from 2021 to 2023 and employing a two-way fixed effects regression framework, I study how temporal changes in racial and ethnic composition, age structure, educational attainment, and economic indicators influence in-migration rates per 1000 residents at the public use microdata level (PUMA). The analysis reveals that higher proportions of Asian and Hispanic populations, as well as an increased share of college-educated residents, are positively associated with in-migration. Notably, higher supplemental poverty rates are also associated with greater in-migration, a counterintuitive finding that may reflect mobility toward affordable housing markets. These findings emphasize the importance of recognizing demographic and intra-regional variability, which can aid policymakers and planners in assessing and delivering public services. Full article

Many states around the world create an unprotected class of migrants by legally categorizing them as “unauthorized”. Yet, we have a limited understanding of the state of knowledge that has resulted from this empirical phenomenon, particularly outside the U.S. and over time. In this article, we map the state of knowledge on unauthorized migration by analyzing the last 30 years of papers published in a leading migration journal. Articles were identified through a comprehensive keyword-based search strategy and analyzed using a computational pipeline that combines natural language processing and large language model-assisted classification. Our findings reveal a persistent empirical emphasis on Mexico–U.S. migration, with economic drivers and disparities, as well as immigration laws and policies, dominating articles’ content. Our analysis also identifies underexplored or peripheral topics, including studies on gender or the environment, highlighting the need for more diversified, cross-national research. Ultimately, by providing a detailed account of our computational mapping approach, we hope this study will serve as a blueprint for future scholars to track how migration research evolves into the future. Full article