Population studies is broadly defined as the scientific study of human populations. Major
areas studied include broad population dynamics; fertility and family dynamics; health, aging, and
mortality; and human capital and labor markets. Researchers in population studies also focus on
methodology. Population studies is an interdisciplinary area of study; scholars from demography,
epidemiology, sociology, economics, anthropology, and various other disciplines study populations.

Among population researchers, demographers are concerned with the empirical study of population
dynamics; that is, demographers study population determinants and consequences including size,
composition, how populations change over time, and the processes influencing those changes.
Demographers deal with the collection, presentation, and analysis of data relating to the basic life-
cycle events and experiences of people: birth, marriage, divorce, household and family formation,
migration, employment, aging, and death. They also examine compositions of populations by sex,
age, race, ethnicity, occupation, education, religion, marital status, and living arrangements.
Demographers further assess the distribution of populations by region, country, province or state,
urban or rural area, and by neighborhood. Most demographic data come from population censuses,
vital registration systems, national registers, and surveys.