To further its mission, the IUSSP:

• organizes seminars and workshops to further scientific knowledge;
• organizes training and distance-learning activities to improve the research capacity;
• organizes the International Population Conference every four years to bring together world specialists in the field;
• publishes outcomes of its scientific activities in a variety of publications, aimed at a scientific audience, policy makers or for the general public;
• maintains a website, to help its members collaborate in a variety of ways and to provide population information for a general audience.

IUSSP Panels, Projects and Taskforce

The scientific programme of the Union is carried out mainly by its Scientific Panels.These panels are established by the IUSSP Council to address an emerging or critical population issue or to develop and improve training and research in the population field. They consist of a small international group of high level experts. To allow for flexibility and innovation, Scientific Panels are set up for a limited period of time.

Depending on the subject matter, context and organizational considerations, the working methods of IUSSP Scientific Panels may vary: these include organizing seminars, cyber-seminars, expert meetings or training workshops, developing training materials and other useful tools for population scientists, and authoring policy papers on critical population issues. Increasingly, activities and tools are internet-based as this allows a larger number of members to participate in and benefit from these activities. 

Current Panels:

Two large scale projects are another dimension of IUSSP activity:

- The Data for Development/Data Revolution Project (2015-2020) with sponsorship of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation brought IUSSP members into ongoing discussions about the need for a data revolution to accompany the post-2015 development agenda and monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

- The Urban Family Planning project  focuses on family planning and fertility change in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and is sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

An IUSSP Early Career Taskforce was established in 2019 to boost the involvement of the next gegeration of population experts in our activities.

For a summary of the state of affairs and recent activities see the overview by the Secretary-General at the recent General Assembly