The term ‘demography’ is of Greek origin and is composed of the two words, ‘demos’ (people) and ‘graphein’ (describe), implying the description of people. Hence demography is the science of the systematic study of population.
- Demography looks into various aspects of population, such as changes in population size, patterns of births, deaths, and migration, and the structure and composition of the population, including the proportions of women, men, and different age groups.
- Demography comes in different varieties, such as formal demography, which is mainly quantitative, and social demography, which emphasizes the social, economic, or political aspects of populations.
Formal demography– Formal demography primarily deals with the measurement and analysis of the components of population change. Its main focus is on quantitative analysis, utilizing a well-developed mathematical methodology that is suitable for forecasting population growth and changes in population composition.
Example- The “population of India on April 1, 1995”.
Social demography– Social demography enquires the broader causes and consequences of population structures and changes. Social demographers believe that demographic processes are regulated by social processes and structures. Similar to sociologists, they aim to identify the social reasons that explain population trends.
Example- age, education, religion, employment, marital status, income levels, migration background, race, and ethnicity.
Determining Population Trends
All demographic studies rely on processes of counting or enumeration, such as censuses or surveys. These methods involve the systematic collection of data on the people residing within a specified territory.
The practice of collecting social statistics by the state is quite old, but it took on its modern form towards the end of the eighteenth century. The American census of 1790 is considered one of the first modern censuses.
In India, censuses started under the British Indian government between 1867-72 (under British Viceroy Lord Mayo). Regular censuses have been conducted every ten years since 1881. After gaining independence, India continued this practice, conducting seven censuses since 1951, with the most recent one in 2011. The census is carried out by the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Indian census is the largest such exercise in the world (China does not conduct regular censuses).
Census:It is the process of systematically gathering and recording information about the members of a specific population. This term is often associated with national population censuses conducted every ten years, typically through door-to-door surveys. Example: the Economic Census in India is a Central Sector Scheme, with 100% Central Assistance and is conducted in all the States and Union Territories of the country, in collaboration with the State/UT Governments. The Economic Census data, over the years, has provided a base for under taking follow up surveys by NSSO and other governmental and non- governmental agencies to study the structure and composition of the various industrial sectors and their contribution. It is undertaken by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Survey: The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in India is a unique setup to carry out surveys on socio-economic, demographic, agricultural and industrial subjects for collecting data from households and from enterprises located in villages and in the towns. It is a focal agency of the Govt. of India (under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI)) for collection of statistical data in the areas which are vital for developmental planning.
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