Course - Bachelor of Population Studies

Year - Ist
Paper Name - Concepts and Theories of Population
Paper No. I
Lecture No. 1
Lecture Title
Meaning and Scope of Demography

Academic Script

Introduction

In 1969, Bogue has proposed three basic demographic questions: (a) how large (or small)
is the population? (b) How is the population composed in terms of the demographic
characteristics of age and sex, and two additional characteristics closely aligned to
demography, namely, race and marital status? And (c) How is the population distributed
spatially? The answers to these questions are given in three demographic processes of
fertility, mortality, and migration/mobility. In this context, according to Poston (2000),
demography is “the scientific study of the size, composition, and spatial distribution of
human populations, and the changes that occur in these phenomena through the processes
of fertility, mortality, and migration”.

According to Hauser and Duncan (1959), the subject matter of demography is grouped
into formal or mathematical demography and social demography or population studies.
Formal demography is distinguished from social demography in terms of use of the
independent and dependent variables. However, both approaches are concerned with the
demographic processes of fertility, mortality, or migration or the demographic
characteristics of age and sex. A formal demographer might examine among populations
the influence of age composition on the birth rate or, alternately, the influence of the birth
rate on age composition. On the other hand, a social demographer might study the
influence of a sociological independent variable, such as social class, on the death rate; or
the effects of a social psychological variable, such as attitudes about motherhood, on
desired and intended fertility. Therefore, social demography is broader in scope and
orientation than formal demography.

Meaning of demography

The term demography refers to characteristics of a population. It is derived from two

Greek words, ‘Demos’ the people and ‘Grapho’, to draw or write. Thus, the term
demography implies ‘to draw or write about people’. In 1855, Achilles Guillard
combined the two Greek words and coined the term demography. However, John Graunt
is called the real founder of demography. In 1762, he wrote the book “Natural and
political observation made upon the bills of Mortality”.
Demography is the scientific and statistical study of human population. It includes the
study of the size, structure and distribution of human population. It also includes the
study of spatial and/or temporal changes in human population due to births, deaths,
migration, and aging. The study of population can be confine to the whole societies or to
smaller groups. Demographic analysis can be based on different criteria like education,
religion, or ethnicity. It has its roots in the societal changes, which accompanied the
scientific and industrial revolutions. Historically, life tables have been developed by
some early mathematicians to be used by life insurance companies. The population
censuses were also conducted with political motives for taxation and political
representation. The early demographic analysis was started in the 18th century. The
conduct of a census has a long history in China, Rome and the Middle East. However, the
modern censuses were conducted worldwide in the late 18th century.

Definitions of Demography

The economists, geographers, social scientists and others have defined the term
demography differently. Some of the definitions of the demography have a narrow
outlook. Some other definitions have taken a very wide scope of the demography. Thus,
some important definitions of demography have been discussed below.

a. Narrow view of demography

i. According to the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, demography is the

“scientific study of human populations, primarily with respect to their size,
their structure and their development.” It distinguishes between demographic
statistics, economic demography and social demography. Economic
demography and social demography imply the “study of relations between
demographic phenomena on the one hand and economic and social
phenomena on the other”.
ii. Wrong has taken a narrow view of demography. He defines demography as
“the statistical description and analysis of human populations”.
iii. According to Peter R. Cox, demography is “the study of statistical methods of
human population involving primarily the measurements of the size, growth
and diminution of the numbers of the people, the proportions of living being
born or dying within the same area or region and the related functions of
fertility, mortality and marriage”.
iv. Thompson and Lewis defines demography as the study of “population size,
composition and distributions and in changes in these aspects through time
and the causes of these changes”. Therefore, demography involves changes in
size, composition and distribution of population because they are related to
human welfare.
v. According to Von Maoyer, demography is “the numerical analysis of the state
and movement of population inclusive of census enumeration and registration
of vital process and of whatever qualitative analysis can be made the state and
movement of population on the basis of fundamental census and registration
 data”. This definition traces the origin of demography in historical perspective
and also linked it with statistics.

b. Broader view of demography

Some other demographers have given a broader view of demography. These

definitions, therefore, also covers more clearly the nature and scope of demography.

i. According to Hauser and Duncan, demography is “the study of size, territorial

distribution, and composition of population changes therein, and the
components of such changes, which may be identified as fertility, mortality,
territorial movement (migration) and social mobility (change of status)”. This
definition has given broader view of the term demography. In this definition,
the composition of population implies such traits as age, sex, race, and ethnic
origin, life cycle attributes as educational level and marital and household
status, and variable characteristics as occupation, socio-economic status,
income, etc.
ii. According to Frank Lorimar, in broad sense demography includes “both
demographic analysis and population studies”. The broad aspect of study of
demography implies both qualitative and quantitative analysis of population.
iii. Donald. J. Bague has also given a broader perspective of the term
demography. According to him, “demography is the mathematical and
statistical study of the size, composition, and spatial distribution of human
population and of changes over time in these aspects through the operations of
the five processes of fertility, mortality, marriage, migration and social
mobility”.
iv. In the views of W.G Barclay, “demography does not deal with the behaviour
of individuals but only with the aggregates of people or even part thereof”. It
id the numerical portrayal of human population.
v. In the words of G.A Harrison and A.J. Boyee, “populations are not merely
conglomerations of individuals but rather, although to different degrees,
ordered coherent systems, which have an entity greater than that of the sum of
the individuals of which they are composed”.
vi. According to H. Stenford, in its most formal sense demography is “a very
technical and highly mathematical study of the vital statistics of human
population (especially birth, death and migration) as well as of the
characteristics of population structure (including age, sex and
marital status) as they contribute to an understanding of population change”.

Thus, demography is a dynamic discipline of study. It can be studied either from its
technical aspects or the societal aspects. The technical aspects include statistical
analysis of the population size and its composition and factors responsible for its
growth and its distribution. Therefore, it covers a narrow view of the subject of
demography. The societal aspects include the relationship between demographic
processes on the one hand, and social, economic, political, biological and ecological
 factors on the other. Therefore, it covers a broader view of the subject of
demography.

c. Balanced view of demography

The balanced view of demography has been given by Thompson and Lewis. Accrding
to them, “under demography we can develop the understanding of population
variables like fertility, mortality, information about female population their health
condition, marital status, distribution of population according to villages and their
classification according to their occupation, and also to collect and study information
about social and economic condition.” Keeping this in to view, in modern
perspective, it is accepted that demography is the study of human society. It has very
little to do with individualistic human problems.

Scope of Demography:

From the definitions given above, it is clear that there were no unanimity of views among
the different demographers regarding definitions of demography and its scope. There is
the macro demographic group and micro demography group. The macro demographic
group want to enlarge the scope of the subject. The micro demography group maintain
narrow view of demography. Besides, one another group favours a balanced scope of the
subject.

i. Macro Demography

In this category, the views of demographers like Spencer, Vance, Ryder, Lorimer, Moore,
and others are included. These demographers have studied the causes of slow or rapid
grow of birth rate, death rate, population growth, sex ratio and health conditions, etc.
Besides, numerous economic issues like unemployment, income condition of the masses,
standard of living, labour conditions and living standard, production, consumption,
saving-habits, relationship between population and economic development are also
studied in macro demographic perspective. The social problem like marital status,
composition of the family, growing trend about caste, religion, education, etc. are also
studied in macro demography. Besides, geographical problems of migration,
urbanization, etc can also be studied using macro demography.

ii. Micro Demography

In micro or narrow view, small units like individual, family, group etc are studied under
demography. These small units constitute the primary elements of macro demographic
analysis. The study of child mortality in Dharawi slums of Mumbai forms part of
micro demography. However, if we study the child mortality in Maharashtra or India it
will fall under the macro demographic analysis. According to Bogue, micro demography
is “the study of the growth, distribution and redistribution of the population within
community, state, economic area or other local area”. It includes both numerical and
composition aspects. Micro demographic analysis is used in sub-division of community
of local areas.

iii. Balanced Demography

A balanced view of the nature and scope of demography has been given by demographers
like Thompson and Lewis. In this context, fertility, mortality, and migration are studied.
Besides, demographic analysis of female population, their health condition, marital
status, rural-urban distribution, occupational classification, and social and economic
condition of population is studied. The study of demography also includes future
population prospects, population and resources, techniques of measurement, training of
demographers, distribution of popu1aion, family planning, population projection,
demographic aspects of housing, education, saving and investment.

According to Whipple, scope of demography includes genecology, ancestry, registration

of vital events, census of population, biometrics dealing with the study of structure,
growth and strength of human body, path-metrics dealing with the knowledge of disease
and anatomy.

Subject Matter & Nature of Demography

The subject matter of demography includes the following:

i. Size of population

The size of population means the number of people living in a given place at a given
time. It is useful for comparison with past and the future projection of population. The
size of population is sought by industrial organisations, schools, universities, hospitals
etc. This is useful for demographers and social scientists. The rate of change in
population and its trends are based on the size of population. Besides, the causes of
change in fertility, mortality and migration are analyzed using the size of population and
changes therein both in temporal and spatial perspective.

ii. Composition of population

The composition of population includes the measurable characteristics of a given

population by age and sex. The population with high proportion of men and women in the
early reproductive years (18 to 35 years) would have high crude birth rates, other things
remain the same. There will more economically productive population in a community
with high proportion of population between 15 and 65 years. The composition of
population also depends on rural-urban residence, marital status, occupation, education,
religion characteristics. Demographic analysis depends not only on the composition of
population at a given moment of time but also changes in population composition, the
cause of these changes and their effect on community.
iii. Distribution of population

How people are distributed in the world? The distribution of population by rural-urban
residence, the changes in population distribution and causes are also important in
demographic analysis. The internal distribution of population such as rural farm and rural
non-farm and different urban communities are important aspects of distribution of
population. The changes in the distribution of population are due to the cumulative effect
of differences in mortality, fertility and net migration rates.

In brief, the study of size, composition and distribution of population and the changes
therein due to fertility, mortality and migration has economic and social significance
from policy perspective.

Nature of Demography

The scientific nature of demography depends on its objectives, which are given as under:
i. to achieve knowledge of the size, composition and distribution of population
ii. to describe past evolution of population and its distribution
iii. to enquire into trends of population and its relationship with different societal
aspects
iv. to advance projection and prediction of future demographic trends and its
possible impacts

The demography employs scientific methods of observation and analysis. It is factual as

well as universal. It establishes cause and effect relationship. Its laws are verifiable and
generalized. Scientific method is a systematic study. The problem should be clearly
defined. Scientific method consists of following steps:

i. Observation: to minutely observe the subject matter under study

ii. Recording: to make a careful record of the observation without any personal
bias
iii. Classification: to properly classified and organized the collected materials
iv. Generalization: to generalize or to find a common rule on the basis of the
classified matter
v. Verification: to preserve the scientific nature of the study

Importance of Demography:

Demography presents population statistics in a scientific manner. The study of

demography has political and economic significance, which are highlighted as under:

i. Political significance
The demography gives the data and information on the rate by which the number of
voters are increasing. It is useful to identify the voters by political parties in making the
arrangement for conducting elections.

ii. Economic significance

Demography helps in analysing economic progress and development. The analysis of

economic development can be made using rate of population growth. It helps to plan and
modernize the economy. Demographic analysis focuses on the dimension of
unemployment and manpower planning. Demography also provides data on per capita
income and production. Demography is also useful for planning authorities to allocate
scarce resources to the various sectors of the economy.

Conclusions

In the last few decades, the field of demography has changed substantially. The subject
matter of demography has expanded broadly and linked to other disciplines.
Demographic theories cover more variables than standard demographic variables like
population size, composition, and distribution, and fertility, mortality, and migration. The
theories and models now incorporate non-demographic variables and study the effects of
demographic conditions and trends to almost all dimensions of human societies and their
natural environments. Therefore, demography is highly dynamic and useful for social,
political, and economic planning.

Demography relies on large data sets. The demographic statistics are primarily derived
from censuses and birth, death, and marriage registrations. Huge data sets are required to
develop trends in demographic indicators, like birth and death rates. These are obtained
from censuses. In developing countries, reliable demographic data are still difficult to
obtain. Demography study changes in human populations. The demographers focus on
specific indicators of change. Two most important demographic indicators are birth and
death rates. The demographers are also interested in trends in migration.

Demography is both an abstract science and applied science. The scientific nature of
demography is widely emphasized by demographers like Irene Taeuber. With improved
data, new techniques and the precise measurement of the demographic transition,
demography has become a science rather than art. Demography employs scientific
methods. Demography deals with population statistics. Population studies deal with
analytical interpretation of population dynamics and composition. Now-a-days, there has
been shift from demography to population studies.