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Population: A Lively Introduction
Population Bulletin, Vol. 53, No. 3, September 1998
by Joseph A. McFalls, Jr.
Introduction
Most people think demography is just math in
disguise — a sort of dry social accounting. Once exposed to the subject, many change
their minds. They come to appreciate the profound impact demographic forces have on
societies. This has never been more true than during the past half-century, a period in
which the United States and other societies have experienced unprecedented social and
demographic change. Since these demographic forces have not been stilled, they will
continue to cause social change and to shape social programs for the balance of our lives
and beyond.
People also find demography fascinating because it deals with so many personally
relevant topics. Nearly all the major events of people's lives have demographic
implications: birth, schooling, marriage, choosing an occupation, childbearing,
retirement, and death. Consider the following questions:
- When and where were you born? How many others were born the same year?
- What is your probability of getting married or divorced?
- Do you have children or do you ever plan to? How many, and how far apart?
- What kind of job will you have? How often will you change jobs? What are your chances of
promotion? When will you retire?
- How many times will you move? Will you move around the block or overseas?
- How long will you live? What are the chances of your dying within a year? Within 10
years? What is likely to kill you?
These are all in part demographic questions. Indeed, if people are not interested in
demographic phenomena, they are not interested in themselves.
Demography, or population studies, is a discipline, an "interdiscipline," and
a subdiscipline. It is clearly a discipline because it is a field with its own body of
interrelated concepts, techniques, journals, departments, and professional associations.
Demography is also an interdisciplinary field because it draws its subject matter and
methods from many disciplines, including sociology, economics, biology, geography,
history, and the health sciences. Finally, demography is also considered a subdiscipline
within some of these same major disciplines. In most universities, demography courses are
taught within the sociology curriculum, perhaps because population phenomena have so long
been linked to social processes.
Demography is defined as the study of human populations: their size, composition, and
distribution, as well as the causes and consequences of changes in these characteristics.
Populations are never static. They grow or decline through the interplay of three
demographic processes: birth, death, and migration. If some groups within a population
grow or decline faster than others, the composition of the whole is altered.
This Population Bulletin presents the basic what, why, and how of the study of
demography. It is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject, but it does provide an
overview of demographic processes and the basic measures used to assess them. In addition,
it traces population trends in the world and the United States, surveys the demographic
differences among population groups, and examines broad social issues linked to population
change.
The first three sections of this Bulletin provide the framework for studying the
dynamics of population. Fertility, mortality, and migration are at the root of all
demographic change. The fourth section reveals how changes in fertility, mortality, and
migration affect a population's size and growth rate, and how population projections
are calculated. The fifth section delves into the composition of populations according to
common variables: age, sex, and race or ethnicity. The sixth section describes how the
geographic distribution of populations changes, primarily through migration. The final
sections discuss issues and problems associated with population growth.
The full text of this Population Bulletin is available in print only. Please visit our
online store to order. Listed below are all the sections of this Bulletin.
Introduction
Fertility
Mortality
Migration
Population Size and Growth
Population Composition
Population Distribution
Population Growth Issues
Concern About Population
Conclusion
Suggested Resources
References
Related Publications
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