Demography

The word dates from 1880, from French demographie (from Greek demos, people + French –graphie, -graphy). It is the statistical study of human populations especially with reference to size and density, distribution, and vital statistics.

Changes in population provide the background to which the development of society has to adjust. Population changes relate to all the phenomena concerning people: births, deaths, migration, marriages and divorces. These phenomena not only touch individuals in society but also impinge on the structure of society more widely. Demography studies population development, that is, the number of births, deaths and migration and other phenomena influencing population change, such as the marriage and divorce rates of the population. Demography also examines what kinds of effects changes in population have on the economic and social development of society.
 
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