Demography
Demography is the study of human populations – their size, composition and distribution across space – and the process through which populations change. Births, deaths and migration are the ‘big three’ of demography, jointly producing population stability or change.
Subject description
A population’s composition may be described in terms of basic demographic features – age, sex, family and household status – and by features of the population’s social and economic context – language, education, occupation, ethnicity, religion, income and wealth. The distribution of populations can be defined at multiple levels (local, regional, national, global) and with different types of boundaries (political, economic, geographic). Demography is a central component of societal contexts and social change.
What demographers do goes well beyond this broad definition and draws extensively from related disciplines – Sociology, Economics, statistics, History, Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology, Public Health and Environmental Sciences.
Research at the Stockholm University Demography Unit (SUDA) is based on unique Swedish population data, allowing us to draw conclusions from our studies with high accuracy. Sweden, along with other Nordic countries, is also known to be a forerunner in emerging family forms and behaviours like divorce, childbearing and family reconstitution. Studies on Swedish population data is therefore relevant for policy makers in many countries.
Demography at Stockholm University is recognised as one of the best in the world – ranked 3rd in Europe and 4th globally in 2025 by the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR).
Career opportunities
Skills in quantitative methods and data science are sought after in many fields. Within this programme, you have the opportunity to apply for an internship at a workplace.
Demographers can have various jobs, including as a researcher for governments, ministries, municipalities, charities and international organizations or as a community planner, forecaster or analyst at organizations like Statistics Sweden, SIDA, and the UN.
Demographers can also hold positions at insurance companies, investment organizations, and a range of other businesses. Some of our former students also continue to study a PhD programme after the Master's programme.
Courses and programmes
Courses and programmes within the subject area.
Courses at master's level
Current courses at Master's level
Master's programmes
PhD studies
The Department of Sociology offers programmes for doctoral students in Sociological Demography.
Degree
Depending on which programme you choose, you can obtain either a one-year or a two-year master's degree in Demography.
Research
Our research group provides a unique expertise in family, migration, ageing, gender, and policy research and competence in analyzing large-scale register data.
Examples of research in Demography
Internal migration in China has little impact on gender equality in families
Divorce increasing among low-income older adults
New model for population estimates gives more reliable results