demografic

Demografic is a term that commonly refers to the field of demography or to the demographic characteristics of a population. In English, the standard spellings are demographic and demography, while demografic appears as a variant in some languages or as a common misspelling. The concept covers the size, structure, and distribution of populations and the processes that change them, including births, deaths, and migration.

Key indicators include population size and density, age and sex structure, fertility rates, mortality rates, life expectancy, migration, urbanization, and dependency ratios. These metrics are used to describe how populations grow, age, and geographicize over time and space, providing a basis for comparison across regions and periods.

Data sources include censuses, vital statistics, population registers, and major surveys; methods comprise cohort-component projections, life-table analysis, and the construction of population pyramids. Limitations involve undercounting, misreporting, privacy concerns, and time lags between data collection and availability, which can affect accuracy and timeliness.

Applications span public policy and planning (healthcare, education, pensions), resource allocation, labor market analysis, urban development, and market research. The field also informs epidemiology and social science research and interacts with statistics, economics, and geography to analyze trends, forecast needs, and evaluate interventions.