[Africa: land of innovation and imagination in demography]. / L'Afrique: terre d'innovation et d'imagination en demographie.

PIP: This edition of Cahiers Quebecois de Demographie is dedicated to the important evolution in the demographic production in French speaking Africa, with the exception of one article on fertility trends in Haiti. Between the 1960s until about the 1980s, African demography settled down to the heavy task of filling the void in demographic data. Data collection and development of new analysis techniques characterize the type of training received by demographers and their scientific production, most often realized in the teaching of national statistics. During this period, African demography contributed much to the advancement of demography, especially certain concepts and tools for collection and analysis. It faced declared limits in classical definitions of household, migration, and forms of union. It yearned to forge definitions which better fit the African context. It uses historical calendars to collect data on age in populations which do not always know their birth year. It developed the technique of observation to collect data on nomads. Africa had been the place entitled to the development of indirect estimation methods. Demographic works in Africa have participated in the restatement of the demographic transition theory and the reversal of intergenerational transfers theory. Since the end of the 1980s, African demography has moved in a social and explicative direction. One article in this edition concerns a new proposed method to comprehend the notion of family ties in demographic surveys, especially those examining migrants to Dakar and Bamako. Another article explores the implications of a very young age structure in Africa. Another article analyzes the differential factors of intergenerational intervals while considering all at once demographic variables and socioeconomic variables. Another articles addresses excess female mortality, especially after three months, in Mali. Two articles examine female migration towards Lome, Togo, and in Burkina Faso.^ieng