demography

American  

[dih-mog-ruh-fee] / dɪˈmɒg rə fi /

noun

1. the science of vital and social statistics, as of the births, deaths, diseases, marriages, etc., of populations.

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demography British  

/ dɪˈmɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. the scientific study of human populations, esp with reference to their size, structure, and distribution

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demography Cultural  

1. The quantitative study of human populations. Demographers study subjects such as the geographical distribution of people, birth and death rates, socioeconomic status, and age and sex distributions in order to identify the influences on population growth, structure, and development.

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Other Word Forms

• demographer noun
• demographist noun

Etymology

Origin of demography

First recorded in 1875–80; demo- + -graphy

Explanation

Do you know the population growth rate of your city? The education levels of everyone on your block? Then you're a fan of demography, the branch of sociology that studies human behavior by analyzing statistical information. The word demography comes from two ancient Greek words, demos, meaning "the people," and graphy, meaning "writing about or recording something" — so literally demography means "writing about the people." Like many branches of the sciences, demography began in the 19th century, when the general craze for cataloging information about the world really took off (think Darwin.) A common related word is demographics, referring to the raw statistical data that's used for analysis.

Example Sentences

Americans lately have been focused on artificial intelligence, but demography is likely to prove equally important.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025

Gianni Pes, a medical doctor from the University of Sassari, presented the findings at a demography conference in Montpellier in 1999—to the bemusement of many in the audience.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 20, 2024

From other registers, the researchers retrieved information on morbidity, mortality and demography.

From Science Daily • Jun. 18, 2024

Victories in Indian elections aren't solely determined by a single factor - caste, demography and religious identity are other key predictors of support for a party.

From BBC • May 8, 2024

He collected every book on Peruvian demography he could find.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• anthropology