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Synonyms

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.


demography British  
/ dɪˈmɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.


Other Word Forms


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.

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Vocabulary lists containing demography

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"I think we're stagnating too much and we need to develop the economy," Aia Laucina, a 49-year-old employee of the European Commission, told AFP, adding the country needs "to work on demography".

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

Many investors will react with incredulity, pointing to Japan as Exhibit A of why demography is destiny.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Investors are all wrong about demography, a new study finds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

Henige stumbled across a seminar on Indian demography taught by Denevan in 1976.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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