Editing Demography (section)

{{Short description|Science that deals with populations and their structures, statistically and theoretically}}
{{About|the discipline|the journal|Demography (journal)|the music album|Demography: The Basement Tapes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=September 2015}}

[[File:Global Population-Pyramid-1950-to-2100.jpg|alt=The Demography of the World Population from 1950 to 2100. Data source: United Nations — World Population Prospects 2017|thumb|350x350px|The Demography of the World Population from 1950 to 2100. Data source: United Nations — World Population Prospects 2017]]

'''Demography''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|δῆμος}}'' ({{grc-transl|δῆμος}})|people, society||''{{wikt-lang|grc|-γραφία}}'' ({{grc-transl|-γραφία}})|writing, drawing, description}})<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|demography}}</ref> is the [[statistics|statistical study]] of human [[population]]s: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population: A Lively Introduction |url=https://www.prb.org/resources/population-a-lively-introduction/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=PRB |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Demographic analysis''' examines and measures the dimensions and [[Population dynamics|dynamics]] of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as [[education]], [[nationality]], [[religion]], and [[ethnicity]]. Educational institutions<ref>{{cite web|title=The Science of Population |url=http://demographicpartitions.org/science-population-determines-population-change/ |website=demographicpartitions.org |access-date=4 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814023915/http://demographicpartitions.org/science-population-determines-population-change/ |archive-date=14 August 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> usually treat demography as a field of [[sociology]], though there are a number of independent demography departments.<ref name="ub">{{Cite web | title=UC Berkeley Demography department website | url=http://www.demog.berkeley.edu/ | access-date=12 October 2006 | archive-date=1 September 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901191409/http://www.demog.berkeley.edu/ | url-status=live }}</ref> These methods have primarily been developed to study human populations, but are extended to a variety of areas where researchers want to know how populations of [[Social actions|social actors]] can change across time through processes of birth, death, and [[Human migration|migration]].   In the context of [[human]] biological populations, demographic analysis uses [[Public records|administrative records]] to develop an independent [[Approximation|estimate]] of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Demographic Analysis |url=https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/cmb/cmbp/downloads/da.pdf |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=U.S. Census Monitoring Board}}</ref> 

[[Demographic]] analysis estimates are often considered a reliable standard for judging the accuracy of the [[census]] information gathered at any time.  In the [[labor force]], demographic analysis is used to estimate sizes and flows of populations of workers. In [[population ecology]] the focus is on the birth, death, migration and immigration of individuals in a population of living organisms, alternatively, in social human sciences could involve movement of firms and [[institution]]al forms. Demographic analysis is used in a wide variety of contexts. For example, it is often used in business plans, to describe the population connected to the geographic location of the business.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/glossaryd/a/demographics.htm|title=How to Use Demographics for Business Advertising|author=Jean Murray|work=About.com Money|accessdate=26 March 2016|archive-date=6 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006194323/http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/glossaryd/a/demographics.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Demographic analysis is usually abbreviated as DA.<ref name="census.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/coverage_measurement/demographic_analysis/|title=Coverage Measurement|author=US Census Bureau Webdesign: SSD, Laura K Yax, Content: DSSD, Phil Gbur, POP, Jason Devine|publisher=|accessdate=26 March 2016|archive-date=10 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110142138/http://www.census.gov/coverage_measurement/demographic_analysis/|url-status=live}}</ref> For the 2010 U.S. Census, The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] has expanded its DA categories.<ref name="census.gov"/> Also as part of the 2010 U.S. Census, DA now also includes comparative analysis between independent housing estimates, and census address lists at different key time points.<ref name="census.gov"/>

'''Patient demographics''' form the core of the data for any medical institution, such as patient and emergency contact information and patient medical record data. They allow for the identification of a patient and their categorization into categories for the purpose of statistical analysis. Patient demographics include: [[date of birth]], [[gender]], date of [[death]], postal code, ethnicity, [[blood type]], emergency contact information, family doctor, insurance provider data, [[allergies]], major diagnoses and major medical history.<ref name="What Are Patient Demographics?">{{Cite web| title=What Are Patient Demographics?| date=21 December 2011| url=https://www.macadamian.com/learn/patient-demographics/| access-date=15 November 2020| archive-date=28 January 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128074040/https://www.macadamian.com/learn/patient-demographics/| url-status=live}}</ref>

'''Formal demography''' limits its object of study to the measurement of population processes, while the broader field of '''social demography''' or population studies also analyses the relationships between economic, social, institutional, cultural, and biological processes influencing a population.<ref>Andrew Hinde ''Demographic Methods'' Ch. 1 {{ISBN|0-340-71892-7}}</ref>