Demographic

adjective; also noun (countable, usually plural 'demographics')

/ˌdeməˈɡræfɪk/

Relating to the statistical study of human populations — their size, age structure, sex ratio, growth rate, density, and distribution. In UPSC, demographic analysis is central to understanding India's 'demographic dividend', the bulge of working-age population (15–64 years) projected to peak around 2040–2045, and demographic challenges like an ageing population in southern states. India's Total Fertility Rate declined to 2.0 (NFHS-5, 2019-21), suggesting an impending demographic transition.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

India's demographic dividend will materialise only if the expanding working-age cohort is absorbed into productive employment — a challenge underscored by the CMIE's estimate of a 7–8% unemployment rate in 2023.

Synonyms

population-relatedcensus-basedstatistical (population)epidemiological (in health context)

Antonyms

anecdotalnon-statisticalqualitative (in contrast to quantitative population data)

🌱 Word Family

demography (noun), demographer (noun), demographically (adverb), demographics (noun, plural), demographic dividend (compound noun)

🔡 Root

Greek dēmos = the people + -graphia = writing, recording; hence 'the writing/recording of the people'

📜 Etymology

From French démographique, itself from Greek dēmos (people) and graphein (to write). The noun 'demography' was coined by Belgian statistician Achille Guillard in his 1855 work Éléments de statistique humaine, ou démographie comparée, meaning the comparative statistical study of human populations. The adjective 'demographic' followed shortly in academic usage.

🧠 Memory Hook

DEMO = people (as in 'democracy' — rule of the people). DEMOgraphic is literally 'people-graph' — a statistical picture of the population. If you know democracy, you know demographic.

👥 Society 📖 Seen in: Salient Features of Indian Society — D...

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