Demography studies human population characteristics and dynamics using census and demographic statistics. It creates statistics to determine common traits and changes over time, including birth, death, fertility rates, life expectancy, education, income, and more. Demographers use direct or indirect methods to collect data through surveys, forms, interviews, and observations. Demographics have practical applications in government policy, research, real estate, advertising, education, economics, and sociology. Demography has been practiced for thousands of years and has evolved with technology advancements.
Demography is the scientific study of characteristics and dynamics relating to human populations, including such things as the size, growth rate, density, and distribution of a specific group. It requires studying the information that can be gleaned from a population census, demographic statistics, and other sources. The people who study and record this data are called demographers and must know both how to obtain facts scientifically and how to interpret them in a relative way. Used for thousands of years, it has a wide range of practical applications and has evolved over time.
Main focus and importance
The main reason people use demographics is to create statistics – in fact, the term roughly translates to “measuring people”. These allow a person to get a picture of how common specific traits are within a group or to determine things like risk. Numbers are not arbitrary and are based on fact, so while individuals must be careful not to let bias creep into their collection methods, people see the resulting percentages or ratios as a more scientific way to make a point or arrive at to a conclusion about a population. Comparing statistics over time also allows researchers to show the changes that are taking place in the target group, which is very useful for planning purposes.
Key statistical concepts
The information gathered and studied for a demographic overview of a population depends on the person or group that will use it, but essential statistical concepts in this field include birth, death, infant mortality and fertility rates, as well as life expectancy. Demographers often break them down further, such as the ratio of men to women and the life expectancy of each gender. In some studies, the search for an area is broadened to include education, income, household structure, housing, race or ethnicity, and religion.
Collection methods
In general, there are two main strategies used to obtain information in demographics. The direct method seeks to connect with every person in a population and the facts gathered come mainly from population statistics records and censuses. The indirect method uses responses from only one segment of the population to obtain data for the entire group. This is a more common technique in countries that are still developing because these regions often lack the organization and resources to keep records on everyone.
Within these two general categories, demographers have a variety of choices in how to get the data they need. Probably the two most common are surveys and forms. Researchers like these options because formally putting the survey on paper ensures that all respondents are asked for the same information in the same way. It can also be both time and cost efficient and allows people to archive records and review them later. Depending on the circumstances, however, a person might also use methods such as conducting interviews and making first-person observations.
Practical application
People apply demographics in many different contexts and industries. Governments, for example, use it for policy observations or to determine the need for world assistance due to famine, disease or other problems. Scientists and academics use it for research purposes, and in real estate, sales agents use demographics to give clients an overview of specific neighborhoods. Advertising relies heavily on this type of data, because companies need to be specific about trends to reach the maximum number of potential customers in their target audience. Similarly, education uses demographics to help gather data to provide needed government and community assistance. Further areas of application include economics, which relates financial, social and political information, and sociology, which uses statistics to show how individual groups of people are organized and develop.
History and Evolution
Experts believe that people have been practicing forms of demography for thousands of years. An often used example is the ancient Roman census, which separated freemen from slaves, gave Romans a sense of community, allowed for an estimate of tax revenues, and aided in military development. Throughout the Middle Ages and even the Renaissance, many kings and other political rulers used similar techniques to understand how large their empires were and to determine the potential threat from enemies.
Many of these purposes still apply today, but one major difference is that advances in technology have drastically reduced the amount of time and resources required to gather information. This change is probably most evident from the second half of the 20th century, which saw the development of the computer. Contemporary demographers are able to collect data electronically through the Internet and can also keep digital records. People can often access these free facts and statistics even from the comfort of their homes.
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