What is "demography"

demography \de*mog"ra*phy\ (d[-e]*m[o^]g"r[.a]f[y^]), n. [Gr. dh^mos the people + -graphy.] The study of vital statistics, such as births, deaths, marriages, mortality, health, etc., in populations and subgroups of populations. -- Dem`o*graph"ic, a. [1913 Webster +PJC] ||

1880, from Greek demos "people" (see demotic) + -graphy.

n. The study of human populations, and how they change.

n. the branch of sociology that studies the characteristics of human populations [syn: human ecology]

Demography (from prefix demo- from Ancient Greek δῆμος dēmos meaning "the people", and -graphy from γράφω graphō, implies "writing, description or measurement") is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. As a very general science, it can analyse any kind of dynamic living population, i.e., one that changes over time or space (see population dynamics). Demography encompasses the study of the size, structure, and distribution of these populations, and spatial or temporal changes in them in response to birth, migration, ageing, and death. Based on the demographic research of the earth, earth's population up to the year 2050 and 2100 can be estimated by demographers. Demographics are quantifiable characteristics of a given population.

Demographic analysis can cover whole societies, or groups defined by criteria such as education, nationality, religion, and ethnicity. Educational institutions usually treat demography as a field of sociology, though there are a number of independent demography departments.

Formal demography limits its object of study to the measurement of population processes, while the broader field of social demography or population studies also analyses the relationships between economic, social, cultural, and biological processes influencing a population.

Demography is a collection of old, unfinished tracks by Industrial band 16 Volt. Most notably this collection contains the "Imitation Cassette" (which helped 16 Volt secure a place on Re-Constriction Records, and "Out of Time" which was cut from their first album, Wisdom, due to time constraints.

While similar in sound to later 16 Volt releases, this collection stands out as having more electronic beats and a heavy use of sound samples in several tracks, in particular "This".

Demography is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering issues related to population and demography. It is an official journal of the Population Association of America and is published on their behalf by Springer Science+Business Media. The editor-in-chief is Pamela J. Smock ( University of Michigan).