Demography: A Very Short Introduction

Description

Demography is the study the study of population size, distribution, composition, and density. Sarah Harper discusses the key theories and methods involved in studying population trends and movements, considers how our current global population came about, and addresses some of the future population challenges of the 21st century.

• Introduces the study of demography, and considers how it analyses and addresses size, composition, and density of populations
• Highlights the way in which the global population has evolved over time and space
• Considers some of the major demographic theories, and the role of different demographic drivers in impacting populations and individuals
• Looks at the emergence of new demographic sub-disciplines and addresses some of the future population challenges of the 21st century
• Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over nine million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology, Oxford University, Director, Oxford Institute of Ageing, and Director of the Royal Institution, London

Sarah Harper is Professor of Gerontology at Oxford University, Director of the Oxford Institute of Ageing, and Director of the Clore Programme on Population-Environment Change. She is a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute and author of Migration, Ageing and the Environment for the UK government Foresight Programme on Global Migration. She is also the Director of the Royal Institute, London. Sarah is the author and editor of several books including Ageing Societies: Myths, Challenges and Opportunities (Hodder Arnold, 2006); the International Handbook of Ageing and Public Policy (Edward Elgar, 2014); and How Population Change will Transform our World (OUP, 2016). She is the founding co-editor of the Journal of Population Ageing (Springer).

Table of Contents

Preface
1:Demography is destiny...or not
2:From 55,000 to 7 billion
3:The founding fathers
4:A statistical science
5:Demographic drivers
6:The demographic transition
7:Demographer's tool box
8:Population pyramids and projections
9:Sub-disciplines arise
10:Population policies and future challenges
Glossary
References
Further Reading
Index

Reviews

"incisive overview" - Times Higher Education

"Sarah Harper has given those studying demographics a useful book as an aid to revision." - Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation