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

See Examples For:

demography

Yet feats of demography are only part of what “Revolver” bequeathed.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

But Berlin will soon decide what sort of destiny it wants to craft for itself in light of its demography.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

“No city has ever been produced by such an extraordinary mixture of geography, climate, economics, demography, mechanics and culture,” said Reyner Banham, the British architectural historian who wrote about Los Angeles a half-century ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025

Declining fertility rates are not just about people delaying parenthood, but about a growing trend of people not having children, says Brienna Perelli-Harris, professor of demography at the University of Southampton.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2024

In effect, the fading revolutionary ideology and the growing racial demography were converging to close off the political options.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• anthropology