Demography

noun (uncountable)

/dɪˈmɒɡɹəfi/

The statistical study of human populations, including their size, structure, distribution, and changes over time through births, deaths, and migration.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

India's youthful demography offers a fleeting demographic dividend, but it will translate into sustained growth only if matched by commensurate investment in skilling, healthcare and job creation.

Synonyms

population studiesvital statisticspopulation sciencecensus analysispopulace profiling

🌱 Word Family

demographic (adj/n), demographics (n pl), demographer (n), demographically (adv)

🔡 Root

Greek demos = the people + -graphia = writing, description (from graphein = to write)

📜 Etymology

From Greek demos ("the people") + -graphia ("writing, description"), literally meaning "writing about the people"; earliest English usage dates to the 1830s.

🧠 Memory Hook

Demos (people) + graphy (writing) = "writing about the people" — the same demos as in democracy, here counted and charted rather than governed.

🌍 Geography 📖 Seen in: Human Geography of India

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