demographer

A demographer is a social scientist who studies the structure, dynamics, and distribution of populations. Demographers examine factors such as birth rates, death rates, migration, age composition, urbanization, and household structure, and analyze how these factors change over time and across places. They use quantitative methods to describe populations and to forecast future trends.

They collect and analyze data from censuses, vital registration systems, and large-scale surveys, and they produce demographic indicators such as fertility rate, mortality rate, life expectancy, age dependency, and migration flows. Using techniques such as the cohort-component method, life-table analysis, and statistical modeling, they estimate historical trends and project population size and age structure.

Applications include government planning, policy evaluation, health and education planning, labor market analysis, and environmental or urban planning. Demographers assess demographic risks, resource needs, and the potential effects of policy changes. They work in academia, government agencies, international organizations, and private research firms.

Education in demography typically involves degrees in demography, sociology, statistics, public health, or related fields, with emphasis on statistical methods, data management, and research design. The field intersects with population studies, statistics, economics, and epidemiology, and many demographers collaborate with scholars in geography, sociology, or public policy.