The POPJUS Program continues and builds upon research activities previously undertaken in the IIASA World Population and Risk and Resilience programs. Insights into current and future population sizes, structures, and distributions are fundamental to understanding human impacts on ecosystems and simultaneously, the impact of environmental changes on human wellbeing differentiated by sub-populations.
The program’s research agenda embraces the key priority in the IIASA strategic plan by identifying sustainable development challenges and exploring people-centric systems solutions for sustainable, resilient, just and equitable societies. The program focuses on strengthening the human-centered and population-based approach, taking into consideration equity and the just distribution of opportunities, outcomes, and processes. In doing so, the program builds on existing strengths and expertise in population and human capital modeling as well as expertise in understanding, managing, and equitably governing systemic and existential risks associated with global change. The program will continue to invest in advancing its methods, approaches, and data to deliver results that can be incorporated into system analytical models, inclusive policy processes, and ultimately into equitable and effective policy pathways and transformations.
POPJUS Research Groups
Equity and Justice (EQU)
The EQU Group focuses on the human dimension of selected globally relevant policy challenges, with the aim of delineating and advancing their analysis, management, and governance with special attention paid to the design and application of equity and justice frameworks, both within the group and across IIASA.
Migration and Sustainable Development (MIG)
MIG focuses on applying advanced data collection and estimation methods to quantify and better understand the trends, patterns, drivers, and consequences of different types of migration considering its interactions with the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
Multidimensional Demographic Modeling (MDM)
Through its research, the MDM Group aims to advance demographic modeling methods to assess and forecast population dynamics with a focus on demographic and spatial heterogeneity under different socioeconomic scenarios at the global, national, and sub-national level.
Young Scientists Summer Program
The Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) at IIASA offers an exceptional opportunity for PhD students to engage in collaborative research with IIASA's interdisciplinary teams.
YSSP opportunities in POPJUS More information on applying to the YSSP
Wittgenstein Centre
POPJUS is one of the three pillars of The Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, a collaboration among the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the University of Vienna.
Read POPNET Newsletter WIC Report of Activities 2018–2022
Models, tools, datasets
Projects
Staff
News
05 December 2024
Four distinguished scholars receive the IIASA Lifetime Achievement Award
03 December 2024
A-LEVERS workshop brings together climate change adaptation experts
27 November 2024
Delegation from the China Population and Development Research Center visits IIASA
Events
Vienna, Austria and online
Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2024-Delayed Reproduction: Challenges and Prospects
Focus
11 November 2024
Why are people waiting longer to start a family? Exploring the trends, challenges, and choices behind delayed parenthood
Ahead of the Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2024 on Delayed Reproduction: Challenges and Prospects, which is set to take place from 21-22 November, researchers from the IIASA Population and Just Societies Program, the Vienna Institute of Demography, and the University of Vienna look into the shifting trends, drivers, and consequences of delayed parenthood.
04 September 2024
The role of urban green spaces as nature-based solutions in Korea and Germany
Imagine a city where every neighborhood has lush green spaces that not only beautify the area but also improve the quality of life for its residents. How can we work together to make this vision a reality? Jaewon Son, a participant in the 2024 IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program shares insights into this important question.
Publications
Sterly, H., Borderon, M., Sakdapolrak, P., Adger, N., Ayanlade, A., Bah, A., Blocher, J., Blondin, S., Boly, S., Brochier, T., Brüning, L., Bunchuay-Peth, S., O’Byrne, D., Safra De Campos, R., Nii Ardey Codjoe, S., Debève, F., Detges, A., Franco-Gavonel, M., Hathaway, C., Funke, N., Gemenne, F., Gubert, F., Gurmu, E., Keeton, R., Ketsomboon, B., Leroy, M., Majidi, N., Marchisio, S., Abu, M., Naruchaikusol, S., Negozio, F., Nicolle, H., Nucera, G., Olsson, L., Owuor, J., Ozer, P., Piguet, E., Reckien, D., Redicker, S., Andreolla Serraglio, D., Sultan, B., Tänzler, D., Vigil, S., Vinke, K., Zantout, K., & Zickgraf, C. (2025). Habitability for a connected, unequal and changing world. Global Environmental Change 90 e102953. 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102953. Hoffmann, R. & Zens, G. (2024). Interrelated drivers of migration intentions in Africa: Evidence from Afrobarometer surveys. Environmental Development 52 e101096. 10.1016/j.envdev.2024.101096. Thaler, T. & Kaufmann, M. (2024). Implementing catchment-wide flood risk management plans: futures and justice conflicts. Futures 164 e103480. 10.1016/j.futures.2024.103480. Vashold, L. & Crespo Cuaresma, J. (2024). A unified modelling framework for projecting sectoral greenhouse gas emissions. Communications Earth & Environment 5 (1) e139. 10.1038/s43247-024-01288-9. Belmin, C., Pichler, P.-P., Marois, G. , Pachauri, S. , & Weisz, H. (2024). The energy-population dividend: Evidence from energy-specific population projections. Environmental Research Letters 10.1088/1748-9326/ad9850. (In Press)