Central America includes the three most densely populated countries in the Western
Hemisphere: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Along with Mexico, it is the most
important current source of immigrants to the U.S. The region is in a process of rapid
transformation after years of civil wars and unrest. During the 1960s and 1970s, Central
America had one of the highest population growth rates in the world. Although population
growth has declined since then, it has remained relatively high (2.1 percent in the 1990s).
Furthermore, despite some gains in economic development since the 1960s, fertility has not
declined as rapidly as might be expected. Central America is also one of the most
demographically heterogeneous of the world's regions. In the period 1985-90, for example,
population growth rates ranged from 1.75 in El Salvador to 3.18 in Honduras, and total fertility
rates from 3.36 in Costa Rica to 5.77 in Guatemala. The combination of high population density,
rapid population growth, poverty, social and political unrest, and the proximity to the U.S. have
made of Central American countries among the most important sources of legal and illegal
immigration to the U.S. Most Central American countries are also experiencing rapid urban
growth. In the region as a whole, the urban population grew from 9 million in 1980 to 16 million
in 1998, a growth rate of about 3.1 percent per annum. Honduras experienced an even higher
5.3 percent average annual urban growth rate. These growth rates are considerably higher than
overall national growth rates indicating that the proportion of the population living in urban
areas is also growing substantially.

Unfortunately, relatively little demographic research has been carried out in the region until the
past few years. U.S. demographers have been more likely to focus on Mexico and on the
countries of South America. On the other side, Central American universities have not
emphasized demographic research and there had been relatively little support or institutional
structure to support demography.

Because of the importance of the region and the dearth of research, the UCLA - School of Public
Health and the Centro Centroaméricano de Población (CCP) at the University of Costa Rica
have undertaken a program of activities to stimulate demographic research among U.S. and
Central American demographers

This program includes two components.

The first is to encourage research on the demography of Central America in the U.S. and
Central American research communities.

Activities in the first component include: (a) sponsoring a program for short term visits for
Central American and US researchers to collaborate with colleagues in other countries, (b)
sponsoring and organizing an international conference to be held in San José, Costa Rica on the
demography of Central America, and (c) continuing to administer a small grants program.

The second component is a small comparative research project on the social structure of urban
areas in Southern California and Central American cities. This project will be carried out
primarily by graduate students from UCLA and the Centro Centroamericano de Población at the
University of Costa Rica.