Demography is the scientific study of human populations. It is important to understand the structure of a population in order to plan health and public health interventions; population structures can be represented as age pyramids. Population growth or decline depends upon fertility, mortality and migration.
Summary. Demography is the scientific study of human populations. It is important to understand the structure of a population in order to plan health and public health interventions; population structures can be represented as age pyramids. Population growth or decline depends upon fertility, mortality and migration.
The health and health care needs of a population cannot be measured or met without knowledge of its size and characteristics.
Demography is concerned with this and with understanding population dynamics – how populations change in response to the interplay between fertility, mortality and migration.
Demographic structure can affect public health needs in at least three ways: (1) age structure and sex ratio affect the types of health problems encountered, (2) population growth rates affect future needs for health care delivery, and (3) the existence of substantial immigrant and refugee populations can also be important.
,The
twentieth century was a very unusual period, demographically
