To Barckley, “The numerical portrayal of human population is known as demography.

” Similarly, according to
Thomson and Lewis, “The population student is interested in population’s size, composition and distribution;

Demography: Meaning, Scope and and in changes in these aspects through time and causes of these changes.”

Importance | Sociology
All these definitions take a narrow view because they emphasise only the quantitative aspects of demography.
Some other writers have defined demography in wide sense by taking the quantitative and qualitative aspects
of population studies.

In this context, according to Hauser and Duncan, “Demography is the study of size, territorial distribution
and composition of population, changes therein, and the components of such changes, which may be identified
ADVERTISEMENTS: as natality, mortality, territorial movement (migration), and social mobility (change of status).”

After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Meaning of Demography 2. Definitions of Demography 3. According to Frank Lorimer, “In broad sense, demography includes both demographic analysis and
Scope 4. Importance. population studies. A broad study of demography studies both qualitative and quantitative aspects of
population.”

Meaning of Demography: Thus, according to Donald J. Bougue, “Demography is a statistical and mathematical study of the size,
composition, spatial distribution of human population, and of changes overtime in these aspects through the
The word ‘Demography’ is a combination of two Greek words, ‘Demos’ meaning people and ‘Graphy’ meaning operation of the five processes of fertility, mortality, marriage, migration and social mobility. Although it
science. Thus demography is the science of people. In the middle of the nineteenth century in 1855, the word maintains a continuous descriptive and comparative analysis of trends, in each of these processes and in its
‘Demography’ was first used by a French writer Achille Guillard. net result, its long run goal is to develop a body of theory to explain the events that it charts and compares. ”

Even though, the term “Population Studies” is more popular, the word ‘Demography’ is under wider use these These broad definitions take into view not only the size, composition and distribution of population and
days. It is considered an important subject capable of throwing light on the nature of population education. changes in them in the long run but also imply human migration and change in the status of population
through education, employment, social status, etc.
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Since antiquity a number of thinkers have expressed their views on the level of economic development and the Scope of Demography:
size of population. During the time of Confucius, many Chinese and Greek writers, and following them
Aristotle, Plato and Kautilya (around the year 300 B.C.) have expressed their thoughts on the subject of The scope of demography is very wide. It includes the subject matter of demography, is it a micro or macro
population. Thus, as a subject, population education is as old as human civilization. study? Whether it is a science or art? These are vexed questions about the scope of demography about which
there is no unanimity among writers on demography. We discuss them as under:
Writers like William Peterson, Hauser and Duncan consider “Population Studies” and “Demography” to be
different. According to them, ‘Demography’ encompasses limited spheres and it studies only the decisive
factors of population growth, whereas in ‘Population Studies’ besides the social, economic, geographical, 1. Subject Matter of Demography:
political and biological aspects of population, their ensuing relationships are also studied.
The subject matter of demography has become very vast in recent years.

Definitions of Demography: ADVERTISEMENTS:

The term demography has been defined both in a narrow and broad sense. The study of demography encompasses the following:

The Oxford Dictionary of Economics defines demography as “The study of the characteristics of human a. Size and Shape of Population:
populations.” According to the UN Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, “Demography is the scientific study
of human populations, primarily with respect to their size, their structure and their development.” Generally, the size of population means the total number of persons usually residing in a definite area at a
definite time. The size and shape of population of any region, state or nation are changeable. It is because
ADVERTISEMENTS: every country has its own unique customs, specialities, social-economic conditions, cultural atmosphere,
moral values, and different standards for acceptance of artificial means of family planning and availability of (a) How people are distributed among and within continents, world regions and developed and
health facilities, etc. underdeveloped countries?

All these factors affect the size and shape of the population and if these factors are studied with reference to (b) How their numbers and proportions change?
any area under demography, we can clearly understand the role they play in determining the shape and size of
the population. (c) What political, social and economic causes bring changes in the distribution of population. Within a
country, it also includes the study of distribution of population in rural and urban areas, fanning and non-
b. Aspects Related to Birth Rate and Death Rate: farming communities, working classes, business communities, etc.

Birth rate and death rate are the decisive factors that influence the size and shape of the population and Migration plays an important role in the distribution of population and supply of labour. Demography studies
therefore their importance in population studies is crucial. In addition to these, factors like marriage rate, the factors that lead to internal and external migration of people within a country and between countries, the
belief regarding social status and marriage, age of marriage, orthodox customs related to marriage, early effects of migration on the migrants and the place where they migrate.
marriage and its effects on the health of the mother and the child, child infanticide rate, maternal death, still
birth, resistance power, level of medical services, availability of nutritious food, purchasing power of the Urbanisation is another factor in the distribution of population within the country. The focus in population
people, etc. also affect the birth and death rate. studies is on factors responsible for urbanisation, the problems associated with urbanisation and the solutions
thereto.
c. Composition and Density of Population:
Similarly, theories of migration and urbanisation form part of the study of demography.
In the subject matter of demography, the study of composition and density of population is important. In the
composition of population factors like the sex ratio, race wise and age- group wise size of population, the ratio
of rural and urban population, distribution of population according to religion and language, occupational 3. Theoretical Models:
distribution of population, agricultural and industrial structure and per sq. km. density of population are very
important. There are vast theoretical aspects of population studies which include the various theories of population
propounded by sociologists, biologists, demographers and economists, and theories of migration and

With this type of information regarding the possibilities of development in that particular area, social- urbanisation.

economic problems of the area, problems created due to increase in urban population, and density of
population form part of population studies.
4. Practical Aspects:

Socio-Economic Problems:
Practical aspects of population studies relate to the various methods of measuring population changes such as
the census methods, age pyramids, population projections, etc.
Out of the many problems relating to population growth, the effects of high density due to industrialization in
the urban areas are of more importance as they affect the socio-economic life of the people. Problems like
slum areas, polluted air and water, crime, addiction to liquor, juvenile delinquency, and prostitution, are also
5. Population Policy:
important subjects of study in demography.

Population policy is an important subject of demography especially in the context of developing countries. It
Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects: includes policies for population control, and family planning strategies; reproductive health, maternal
nutrition and child health policies; policies for human development of different social groups, etc., and the
Along with the quantitative problems of population, the qualitative problems also form part of population effects of such policies on the total population of the country.
studies. Moreover, the study of demography includes the availability of physicians in the total population,
number of hospitals, the number of beds in hospitals, expectation of life at birth, daily availability of minimum
calories, resistance power, advertisement of family planning programme and its development, the changes 6. Micro vs Macro Study:
brought in the attitudes of people regarding child birth and adequate medical facility for delivery, etc.
The true scope of demography relates to whether it is a micro or macro study.

2. Distribution of Population: Micro Demography:

Population studies include the following:

Micro demography is the narrow view of population studies. Among others, Hauser and Duncan include the For any discipline to be a science:
study of fertility, mortality, distribution, migration, etc. of an individual, a family or group of a particular city
or area or community. (i) It must be a systematised body of knowledge;

As pointed out by Bogue, “Micro demography is the study of the growth, distribution and redistribution of (ii) It must have its own laws or theories;
the population within community, state, economic area or other local area.” According to the micro view,
demography is primarily concerned with quantative relations of demographic phenomena. (iii) They can be tested by observation and experimentation;

Macro Demography: (iv) They can make predictions;

A majority of writers take the macro view of population studies and include the qualitative aspects of (v) They can be self-corrective; and
demography. To them, demography includes the interrelationships between population and social, economic
and cultural conditions of the country and their effects on population growth. (vi) Have universal validity.

It studies size, composition and distribution of population, and long run changes in them. Why migrations take Demography possesses all the above noted elements of a science which can be described as under:
place and what are their effects? What leads to urbanisation and what are its consequences? All these form
part of macro aspects of population studies which also include unemployment, poverty and policies relating to 1. It is a systematised body of knowledge in which facts are studied and analysed in a systematic manner.
them; population control and family welfare; and theories of population, migration and urbanisation, etc.
2. It has its own theories like the Malthusian Theory, the theory of Demographic Transition, etc.
Prof. Bogue explains macro demography as “the mathematical and statistical study of the size, composition,
and spatial distribution of human population and of changes over time in these aspects through the operations 3. These theories have been tested on the basis of observation.
of the five processes of fertility, mortality, marriage, migration and social mobility. It maintains a continuous
descriptive and comparative analysis of trends, in each of these processes and in their net result. Its long run 4. Demography can make predictions on the basis of cause and effect relationships. It can predict about
goal is to develop theories to explain the events that it charts and compares.” changes in population.

Balanced View: 5. Demography is self-corrective in nature. It goes on revising its conclusions in the light of new facts based on
observations.
Writers like Bogue, Lorimer and others favour a balanced view of population studies. They do not believe in
dividing the study of demography into two separate micro and macro divisions. 6. The principles of demography have universal validity as they are applicable to all countries, given the same
conditions.
As pointed out by Lorimer,”A demographer limited to the merely formal treatment of changes in fertility,
mortality and mobility would be in a position like that of a formal chemist observing the compression of Thus on all counts, demography is a science. It is not only a positive science of ‘what is’ but also a normative
mercury with no information about associated changes in temperature or the constituent of the liquid.” science of “what ought to be.” It studies the causes and effects of population problems and also suggests
policy measures to solve them.
Therefore, the scope of demography should include both micro and macro aspects of population. According to
Thompson and Lewis, it should relate to fertility, mortality, information about female population, their health, To conclude with Irene Taeuber, “With improved data, new techniques and precise measurement of the
marital status, distribution and classification of population according to occupation, and collection and study demographic transition that is occurring, demography has become a science. In fact, it has become an applied
of information about social and economic condition, and migration of population. science and applied technology.”

7. Demography as a Science: Importance of Demography:

Before studying whether demography is a science, it is essential to know what science is and to what extent the With the majority of developing countries facing population explosion, the study of population and its
characteristics of science are applicable to demography. problems has become very important in every sphere of an economy.

A science is a systematised body of knowledge ascertainable by observation and experimentation. It is a body

We discuss them below:
of generalisations, principles, theories or laws which traces out a causal relation between cause and effect.
(1) For the Economy: These require improvement of environmental sanitation, removal of stagnant and polluted water, slum
clearance, better housing, efficient transport system, clean water supply, better sewerage facilities, control of
The study of demography is of immense importance to an economy. Population studies help us to know how far communicable diseases, provision of medical and health services, especially in maternal and child welfare by
the growth rate of the economy is keeping pace with the growth rate of population. If population is increasing opening health centres, opening of schools, etc.
at a faster rate, the pace of development of the economy will be slow. The government can undertake
appropriate measures to control the growth of population and to accelerate the development of the economy.
(5) For Political System:
Rapid population growth reduces per capita income, lowers the standard of living, plunges the economy into
mass unemployment and under employment, brings environmental damage and puts a burden on existing The knowledge of demography is of immense importance for a democratic political system. It is on the basis of
social infrastructure. Population studies highlight these problems of the economy to be solved by the the census figures pertaining to different areas that the demarcation of constituencies is done by the election
government. commission of a country. The addition to the number of voters after each election helps to find out how many
have migrated from other places and regions of the country.

(2) For Society: Political parties are able to find out from the census data the number of male and female voters, their level of
education, their age structure, their level of earning, etc. On these basis, political parties can raise issues and
Population studies have much importance for the society. When population is increasing rapidly, the society is promise solutions in their election manifestos at the time of elections.
faced with innumerable problems. Shortages of basic services like water, electricity, transport and
communications, public health, education, etc. arise.
Further, it is on the basis of male and female voters in an area that the election commission establishes
election booths for voters and appoints the election staff.
Along with these, problems of migration and urbanisation are associated with the growing population which
further lead to the law and order problem. Faced with such problems which are the concomitant result of
population growth, the state and non-government social organisations can adopt appropriate measures to
solve them.

(3) For Economic Planning:

Data relating to the present trend in population growth help the planners in formulating policies for the
economic plan of the country. They are kept in view while fixing targets of agricultural and industrial
products, of social and basic services like schools and other educational institutions, hospitals, houses,
electricity, transport, etc.

Population data are also used by the planners to project future trends in fertility and to formulate policy
measures to control the birth rate.

Based on population data, projections are made about the increase in labour force, and the number of people
in the age-groups 1-15 years, 15-50 years and above in order to estimate the labour force available for
productive employment. This, in turn, helps in making estimates regarding employment to be generated during
the plan period.

(4) For Administrators:

Population studies are also useful for administrators who run the government. In under-developed countries,
almost all social and economic problems are associated with the growth of population. The administrator has
to tackle and find solutions to the problems arising from the growth of population. They are migration and
urbanisation which lead to the coming up of shanty towns, pollution, drainage, water, electricity, transport,
etc. in cities.