This booklet aims to present the current knowledge of the population estimates, trends and conservation status of waterbird populations in different parts of the world in 2012. It is a summary version of the fifth edition of the Waterbird Population Estimates (WPE5) which has been published as a web-based, open access, interactive database (wpe.wetlands.org). The online database was launched at the Ramsar COP11 in Bucharest, Romania, in July 2012.