Now we will learn about our first unit “Basic Knowledge about Demography” through these quick key facts
- Demography is derived from the Greek word “Demos” which means “Human being”.
- “Demos” term was first time introduced by Belgian statistician ” Achille Guillard “ in 1855.
- “Demos” term is first time coined in the article entitled “Elements of Human Statistics or Comparative Demography”
- According to IUSSP ( International Union for the Scientific Study of Population ), Demography is “ The scientific study of human populations, primarily concerning their size, structure and development; it takes into account the quantitative aspects of their general characteristics”
- Population Studies deal with the levels and changes in the population’s size, composition and distribution and the causes and consequences of the levels and changes.
- Demography overlaps with several other subjects such as economics, sociology, social psychology, law, political science and reproductive physiology
- The practical central focus of demography, known as formal demography is a set of techniques by which data collected in censuses, surveys and vital registration systems are described, summarized and manipulated
- Demographic processes mean the phenomena of fertility or births, mortality or deaths and migration or movement of people from one location to another, which contribute to changes in the size and structure of a population.
- The variables of age, sex and marital status are considered the three basic demographic variables.