Demographically

Demographically is an adverb form of the adjective demographic. It refers to aspects or processes related to the structure of a population. The term derives from the word demographic, which itself comes from Greek demos (people) and graphia (writing or description). In use, demographically describes how characteristics are distributed across population groups or how a phenomenon varies by those characteristics.

Common contexts for the term include research, journalism, and policy analysis. For example, a report might say, “Demographically, the city has a young, multicultural population,” or “The program targets demographically underrepresented groups.” It can modify verbs or adjectives, as in “the country is demographically diverse” or “the sample was demographically representative.”

Demographically differs from demographic in its syntactic role. Demographic can be a noun or an adjective describing population characteristics or statistics, while demographically is an adverb that describes the manner or relation to those characteristics. It should not be used to imply non-population factors.

Data on demographic characteristics are typically collected through censuses and surveys, such as national censuses, household surveys, and demographic health surveys. Analysts use demographically oriented language to describe distributional patterns, compare groups, or assess trends and equity. The term is widely used across social sciences, market research, and public policy to situate findings within population contexts.