DEMOGRAPHY

Definition of Demography

The study of changes in the number of births, marriages, deaths, etc. In a particular
area during a period of time. We use the term “demography” as a more specific version of
its literal meaning derived from the Greek words “demos” (meaning “people”) and
“graphia” (meaning “description of”). So to us, the term “demography” means a description
of people, and more specifically a description of their ages and sexes. To be meaningful, this
description must move beyond the level of individual people.
History of Demography
The roots of statistical demography may be found in the work of the Englishman John
Graunt; his work Natural and Political Observations . . . Made upon the Bills of Mortality (1662)
examines the weekly records of deaths and baptisms (the “bills of mortality”) dating back to
the end of the 16th century. In search of statistical regularities, Graunt made an estimate of
the male-female ratios at birth and death-birth ratios in London and rural communities. His
most celebrated contribution was his construction of the first mortality table; by analyzing
birth and death rates he was able to estimate roughly the number of men currently of
military age, the number of women of childbearing age, the total number of families, and
even the population of London. Another such study was undertaken by Johann Süssmilch,
whose Die Göttliche Ordnung (1741; “The Divine Order”) analyzed the populations of 1,056
parishes in Brandenburg and various cities and provinces of Prussia. Süssmilch constructed
several mortality tables, most notably the first such table for the whole population of Prussia
(1765).

In 18th-century Europe, the development of life insurance and growing attention to

public health produced an increased awareness of the significance of mortality studies. Civil
registries of significant public events (births, deaths, and marriages) began in the 19th
century to supplant church registries. Censuses of the population also developed during the
19th century

For most of the 19th century, demographic studies continued to emphasize the
phenomenon of mortality; it was not until demographers noted that a considerable decline
of fertility had taken place in the industrialized countries during the second half of the 19th
century, that they began to study fertility and reproduction with as much interest as they
studied mortality. The phenomenon of differential fertility, with its implications about selection
and more particularly about the evolution of intelligence, evoked widespread interest as
shown in Charles Darwin’s theories and in the works of Francis Galton. During the period
between the two world wars, demography took on a broader, interdisciplinary character. In
1928 the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population was founded.

In spite of increasing sophistication in the analysis of statistics and the proliferation of

research institutes, periodicals, and international organizations devoted to the science of
demographics, the basis for most demographic research continues to lie in population
censuses and the registration of vital statistics. Even the most meticulously gathered census is
not completely accurate, however, and birth, death, and marriage statistics—based on
certificates drawn up by local authorities—are accurate mostly in countries with a long
tradition of registry.
Key Concepts in Demographics

Crude Birth Rate: the total number of live births in a year for every 1000 people alive in the
society

Crude Death Rate: the total number of deaths in a year for every 1000 people alive in the
society

Demographic Transition Model: Explanation for the transformation of countries from having
high birth rates and high death rates to low birth rates and low death rates

Dependency ratio: proportion of the population that are dependents (under 15 or over 65).
It is calculated by dividing the number of dependents by the total population (15-64).

Infant mortality rates: the number of deaths of children under the age of one per thousand
live births.
Life Expectancy: The average number of years that an individual can be expected to live

Maternal mortality rates: is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of
termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any
cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from
accidental or incidental causes.

Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the
change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using “per unit time” for
measurement. Population growth is determined by four factors, births, deaths, immigrants,
and emigrants.
Population Density: population divided by total land area.

Population pyramid: Inverted bar graphs that show a wide population base (younger
population) with a narrow top (older population). Population pyramids show: age
distributions, dependency ratios of those under 15 and over 65, and sex ratios (males vs.
females

Natural Increase Rate: The percentage of growth in a population. It is measured by

subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate. Usually developing countries
have positive or high natural increase rate, while developed countries have a lower rate.
Populations in developed countries may increase though due to migration.

Total Fertility Rates: the average number of children a woman will have in her childbearing
years.
Key figures
INTERNATIONAL FIGURES
Norman Borlaug
Father of the green revolution in the 1960s that aimed to increase grain production through
the use of high yield varieties of crops.
Malthus

English college professor in late 1700s-1800s who theorized that population tends to increase
in geometric rate, while the means of subsistence (food) increases at an arithmetic rate,
resulting in an inadequate supply of the goods supporting life, unless a catastrophe occurs to
reduce (check) the population or the increase of population is checked by sexual restraint
Marx

German philosopher and revolutionary socialist who rejected Malthusian theory and argued
that at each point in history has its own law of population that determines the consequences
of population; suspected that science and technology could increase the availability of
food and other goods at least as quickly as the population grew, but that poverty resulted
from poorly organized, capitalist society
Gaunt

17th century London haberdasher who became known as the "father of demography" for his
pioneering studies of the regular patterns of death in London; analyzed bills of mortality in
the first known statistical analysis of demographic data
Ehrlich

American biologist and author of contraversial "population bomb" in 1968; known as neo-
malthusian; introduced concept of environmental degradation (depletion of nonrenewable
resources, climate, etc. ( into top population debate; blames rapid population growth for
environmental degradation and that it should be top priority; believed Malthus was right--
only 2 solutions are to lower birth rate or increase death rate
Everett lee

Conceptualized factors associated with the decision to migrate and the process of
migration into the following categories (1) factors associated with origin (2) factors
associated with destination (3) intervening obstacles and (4) personal factors.
LOCAL FIGURE
Mercedes Concepcion

“The Mother of Asian Demography”. Was recognized for her contributions in the field of
population research and policy, were born on June 10, 1928. She pioneered the research
and continuing work on Philippine as well as the Southeast Asian Demographic processes is
acknowledged globally. She studied the population growth in the Philippines which has
been an important input in the improvement, monitoring and evaluation of the national
population policy and program.

She has also outlined some of the maternal considerations in determining the ideal family
size, and was one of the first to make comparisons on the fertility of women in urban and
rural areas in the Philippines, based on age and economic status.
Her exploration of population trends had (and continue to have) implications in Philippine
socioeconomic development, urbanization, employment, and population control. For
instance, as the first director and co-founder of the University of the Philippines (UP)
Population Institute in 1965, she played a key role in advancing population studies in the
country and in creating the Population Act of 1971. This act established a national family
planning program in conjunction with a nationwide policy of population control.
Application of Demography
Impact of Demographic Changes on Students

Changing demographics in education has also had a positive impact on students, who
have different levels of grasping power. Younger teachers are more patient and more
equipped with modern techniques to reach out to slow learners and bring them up to
speed. Technology here too, plays a significant role as it makes use of interactive tools to
effectively reach out to students.

Changing demographics in Indian education is however, not limited to educators. The Right
to Education Act states that 25 per cent of seats in private schools must be reserved for the
economically backward. What this does, is encourage students to learn from each other
and use their experiences from their varied backgrounds to mutually benefit each other.

Changing demographics in Indian education are definitely a boon to the system and in a
day and age where learning is going beyond text books, to bring about a cultural as well as
intellectual change in society.
What do demographers do?

Demographers study populations to determine their size and composition and to predict
how they are likely to change in years to come. In all countries, this knowledge is key to
meeting the population’s present and future needs, for example, to decide how many new
kindergartens, schools or retirement homes are needed. Demographers analyse data
collected by the national statistical offices (INSEE in France) and organize surveys on specific
themes. To become a demographer you need a Master’s degree in demography or a
related discipline, such as sociology, statistics, geography, biology etc. You can also study
for a PhD to specialize in research or to teach demography at university level.
CURRENT ISSUES IN DEMOGRAPHY
Global Rate of Suicide Deaths Is on the Decline

THURSDAY, Feb. 7, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- There's bad news and good news in a study of
lives lost to suicide around the world.

In sheer numbers, more of the world's people are dying by suicide each year than ever
before, the new report reveals. In 2016, about 817,000 deaths worldwide were attributed to
suicide, the study showed. That's an increase from the 762,000 suicides calculated for 1990.
However, after the researchers adjusted their numbers for changes in age and population
size, they found that the suicide fatality rate actually decreased by nearly a third between
1990 and 2016.
Only further study can determine whether the decline is due to better suicide prevention
efforts or to general improvements in population health, the researchers said.

The analysis of data from the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study also found that the
worldwide rate of suicide death was higher among men (15.6 deaths per 100,000) than
women (7 deaths per 100,000).

However, that wasn't true for most countries with what the researchers called a "low
sociodemographic index" -- a measure of fertility, income and education. In those nations,
women had higher suicide rates than men, according to the study published Feb. 6 in
the BMJ.

The researchers were led by Mohsen Naghavi, a professor of health metrics at the University
of Washington in Seattle. He and his colleagues said the wide variations in suicide trends
between nations and between groups reflect a complicated interaction between factors
that require further research.

The World Health Organization's goal is to reduce suicide deaths by one-third between 2015
and 2030, so identifying people at greatest risk is crucial for prevention efforts.

The researchers noted that the study had a number of limitations, including under-reporting
or misclassification of cause of death in some countries, which means that it could still be
underestimating the actual number of suicide deaths worldwide.

In an editorial accompanying the study, Ellicott Matthay, a postdoctoral scholar at the

University of California, San Francisco, agreed that the findings should be viewed with some
caution, but added that they "will spur research that could inform future policy."

The results could help governments, international agencies, donors, civic organizations,
physicians, and the public identify the places and groups at highest risk of suicide, and to
determine priorities for interventions, Matthay said in a journal news release.

https://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/demographic-facts-
sheets/faq/demographers-do/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/304961
https://www.global-workforce.globalization101.org/demographics-concepts/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/demography

https: https://www.britannica.com/topic/demography//quizlet.com/32751039/demography-
important-people-flash-cards/
http://www.famousfilipino.com/content/view/44/130/
https://www.flipscience.ph/news/features-news/features/national-scientist-mercedes-
concepcion/