Demography is what kind of science? Development of demography. Modern demography

The evening is the world time for watching the news. Viewers hear a lot of terms that are not always clear and do not allow you to fully immerse yourself in the essence of the problem. The demographic problem of the country, the difficult demographic situation, the demographic crisis - often these phrases are taken off the lips of politicians, public figures, sociologists and leaders. In order to understand what is at stake, it is necessary to get acquainted with the term "demography", with its origin, development and role in the development of modern society.

The origin of the new science

January 1662 is universally considered the birth date of demography as a science. At that time, she did not yet have this modern name. John Graunt spoke about it in his book with a long title, which was now paraphrased and would simply be called "Demography through the eyes of John Graunt, a citizen of London." Studying the actual at the time death bulletins, Graunt first noticed that the population exists according to certain patterns. Thanks to the ninety-page book of the self-taught scientist, later three sciences appeared: sociology, statistics and demography.

History of the origin of the term

More recently, namely in 1855, the French scientist A. Guillaume published a book with at that time an unnamed name - "Elements of Human Statistics, or Comparative Demography."

Russian language was added to this term in 1970, thanks to the holding of the eighth international statistical congress in St. Petersburg. Initially, demographics in Russia were perceived exclusively as synonymous with population statistics. In modern society, demography is an activity aimed at collecting data, describing and analyzing changes in the number, composition and replenishment of the population. The use of the term in the form of an adjective gives it the meaning "relating to the study of the composition of the population".

About what demography tells

Demography is a scientific study of the number, location and composition of the population. Also, within the framework of this science, the reasons for the change in the composition of the population and the ways of solving unfavorable for the country demographic situations are studied. In this regard, demography is not just a science, it is a set of techniques that allow preserving and multiplying the quality population in the country and the world. The population is the target of the study of demography.

As a unit of the population, a person is distinguished, which is considered from the point of view of various signs. This allows us to say that demography is the science of a person, his age, gender, marital status, occupation, education, nationality and other characteristics.

Throughout life, each of these indicators is subject to change, which significantly affects the overall state of the country's population. Such instability gave birth to such a term as population movement. It is divided into natural, mechanical and social.

Stages of development of demography

In ancient times, thinkers paid attention to the population, its numbers, but there was no talk that demography was a science. Confucius tried to determine the relationship between the size of the population and the number of cultivated land. After him, Plato, describing the ideal state, noted that the population of his population should not be less than 5,040 free residents.

Apprentice of Plato Aristotle actively studied the small number of the population. The era of feudalism is characterized by the active application of measures to increase the population. Thus, the authorities tried to strengthen the political and financial situation, as well as military forces. For the first time the population, as an object of science, began to study John Graunt.

Demography in modern society

The rapid development of demography is more characteristic of the middle of the twentieth century, which is the source of the birth of modern demography. Demography comes to a new level and begins to play an important role in solving many economic and social problems. Social demography is a combination of two sciences, sociology and demography. It is based on the study of the mutual influence of demography on sociology and vice versa.

Modern demography carries a vast scientific base, which was derived in the mid-seventies. The scientific approach allowed to open new knowledge, to develop demographic analysis, to multiply studies based on demography. The family became the main element of studying the demographic situation of the country. To study the science of the composition of the population, such great scientists as D.I. Mendeleev, P.P. Semenov-Tianshansky, S.P. Kapitsa.

Population explosion

The seventeenth century is characterized by a significant increase in the population. The reason for this increase was the high achievements of medicine, which helped to reduce the death rate. According to official data, the population for a thousand years before our era was fifty million people. For 2600 years, it has increased by only 450 million.

After 130 years, a demographic explosion was noticed, because during this time the number of people could increase by a billion. Then the explosion became more extensive, and for 44 years on the planet, there were four billion people, instead of the recent two billion. The population of the Earth continues to grow rapidly, and by 2025 the population will exceed eight billion. But there are also forecasts that promise the extinction of the population in a few dozen years.

The demographic crisis

The twentieth century was a period of declining fertility and mortality in many countries around the world. The gain was either minimal, or it was not at all. Some countries have gone into negative territory. With a significant reduction in the population faced and Russia.

One of the reasons for the Russian demographic crisis was the disintegration of the USSR. In most of the subjects of the Russian Federation, there is an excess of mortality over births. In countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa, global population decline is caused by a high level of migration.

Also, the reasons for the demographic crisis include historical cataclysms, infant mortality, the growth of the urban population who does not want to have more than one child, the lack of funds for more than one child, the predominance of the male population over the female.

The inertia of the demographic crisis lies in the pattern: if the birth rate has a stable negative dynamics, then the number of women capable of reproduction is reduced. In this case, the acquisition of positive dynamics is possible only if women will give birth to times more children.

Ways to solve demographic problems

As you know, the demographic explosion is most typical of China. To solve this problem, the government decided to tax every child born, except the first. The disadvantage of this method is the large number of unregistered children. But the effect is also there, the annual growth decreased by 1.8%. Following the example of China, this policy was also chosen by India.

As for the demographic crisis, the incentive system is effective here. So, in Russia there is a program in which women who gave birth to a second child receive maternity capital, for a third child, the state gives a land plot for building a house. French women and Germans receive solid benefits for two or more children.