Last Updated On 20 Mar, 2022
Demographers study Demography courses before beginning their careers. Demography is the study of collective populations, which encompasses societies, nationalities, religions, ethnicities, and educational levels. The field of demography is a branch of geography and a branch of sociology that focuses on studying the world's population.
Demography, in simple terms, is the study of statistics, such as births, deaths, migration, and the change of human populations over time. The goal of demographers is to understand population dynamics. Through studying demography, one comes to understand how the total number of men and women in a city is calculated, the ratio among them, and more. Students learn about the various methods used, the calculation, the common ratios, the equation, and the science of population.
Demographers learn about the population size, compositions, and distribution across space. The three primary aspects of demography are:
Birth | Death | Migration |
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Particulars | Specifications |
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Courses Level | UG, PG, Ph.D. or Doctoral |
Process of Admission | Merit List and Entrance Examinations |
Programme Duration | UG Level – 3 years PG Level – 2 years |
Average Course Fee (annually) | INR 25,000 – INR 3,00,000 |
Average Salary (per month) | INR 15,000 – INR 1,00,000 |
Career Options | Demography Expert, Assistant Professorship, Research Associate/Analysts, Ethnographers, Family Health and welfare professionals, Development Programme analysts, Government Officials in Census and Statistical organizations, Consultants with International Organisations like Work Bank, United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), United Nations, and, etc. |
With its diversity, Demographers have a good scope in India and as well as abroad. They can expect a remuneration of around INR 2 Lakh per month. Demography course provides ample opportunities to its graduates with good salary in hand. After applicants gain experience in the relevant fields, they can also expect an increase in their emoluments. Hence, becoming a demographer is a good career option for candidates interested in pursuing this course.
Provided below is the responsibility shared by a demographer. Go through the pointers to understand the job profile better.
Mentioned below are the eligibility criteria of a demographer. Check out the eligibility criteria required for UG, PG, and Post PG candidates.
For UG Candidates | For PG Candidates | For Post PG Candidates |
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There are various courses offered at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels to the candidates under demography course admissions. Here is the list of UG, PG level of Demography courses mentioned below:
Undergraduate (3years):
| Top Colleges for Demography Courses
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Postgraduate (1-2 years):
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Postgraduate Diploma (1 year):
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Doctoral Level/Ph.D.
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Applicants looking forward to pursuing demography at the UG level should have cleared their class 12 with any combination but it is mandatory to have mathematics as a main subject. The second preferred subject is Biology for candidates belonging to the science stream. They can pursue with or without physics and chemistry.
In case candidates prefer to take a non-science approach, having geography and economics will be a great help. Applicants can also choose a humanities combination with any of the following mentioned subjects in addition to geography, economics, and mathematics: psychology, history, sociology, or political science. In addition to this, applicants must have scored at least 45% in aggregate in the final examination. However, some relaxation for applicants belonging to the reserved category will be provided as per Government reservation rules.
UG-level courses specific to the discipline are limited in number. Therefore, admission to these may or may not have entrance examinations. The entrance examination will be dependent on the course and demography institution selected by the candidates. Many universities like Delhi University, JNU, and other public and private universities conduct their entrance examinations for the admission selection process. Applicants must refer to the appropriate program admission criteria while choosing for a bachelor/UG level course.
Entrance exams for PG levels are conducted by the specific demography colleges or universities themselves.
Entrance exams include questions based on general aptitude, language, reasoning, quantitative aptitude, mathematics reasoning, statistics, research aptitude along with basic knowledge of demography discipline.
Candidates can adhere to the following mentioned steps below for the demography admission process:
Step 1: Selecting a University/College: The very first step is to search for colleges or universities offering courses in Demography. Candidates can check the fees, the number of seats offered, minimum eligibility criteria for the particular course, etc.
Step 2: Apply for Selected Course: Candidates can proceed to apply for admission after selecting the university/college offering the programme. Fill in the required details, upload the documents and pay the application fee followed by submitting it. Note: Application forms are available for a defined period so candidates are advised to know the details way in advance.
Step 3: Mode of Admission: Admission to some universities and colleges will either be based on entrance exams or through a merit list. For PG-level courses, the candidates will have to sit for an entrance examination.
Step 4: Results Declaration: Selected and qualified candidates who fall under the merit list and secured a desired rank and percentage, will be eligible for admission.
Step 5: Counselling: Selected candidates will have to appear for the counseling session conducted at the university to book their seats. At the counseling session, candidates will have to submit their valid required documents and pay the fees to seal admission.
After pursuing Demography courses, applicants have a wide opportunity of job placements in the various public as well as the private sector. Further, candidates can also opt for pursuing Higher education program under this course.
Some popular job profiles for demographers are listed below:
Statistician | The job of a statistician is to design and manage experiments, surveys, and research. They deal with the initial collection of data and analyzing it. |
Data Analyst | Using the statistical data or database, the data analyst’s job is to provide reports based on that. They are also responsible for Acquiring data from the sources and identifying, analyzing, and interpreting the patterns in complex data sets. |
Team Leader | A Team Leader is a professional in charge of allocating work, guiding, monitoring, and leading an entire workgroup. |
Consultant | Consultants’ job is to offer advice and expertise to organizations for improving their business performance in terms of operations, profitability, management, structure, and strategy. |
Subject Matter Expert | The primary job is to ensure that the content or matter or any information about her/his field of expertise is accurate and correct. |
Senior Manager | The role of a senior manager is to supervise individuals to ensure that business operations are running efficiently. They also evaluate each individual's performance and ensure that it meets company and industry standards. |
Researcher | Their job is to gather data during the project life cycle, analyze the data and publish the findings to aid new research. |
Geologist | They are responsible to evaluate and explore the planet’s natural resources. Identify them, gather data and improve upon research methods. |
Sociologist | Sociologists’ job is to study human behavior, interaction, and organization. |
Public Administration | Their jobs are to analyze information, oversee expenditures, draft and implement governmental and public policy. |
There are various employment opportunities for a Demographer in different sectors. Some of the top sectors/industries that require a demographer are listed below:
The top recruiters in India for demographers are listed below:
The expected salary for the demographer graduates is highly variable. There is a wide range of entry-level jobs in NGOs to teaching positions in colleges and universities. There are also opportunities outside India that can pay significantly more.
Job Profile | Minimum Average Salary | Maximum Average Salary |
Demographer | INR 15,000 per month | INR 1,000,000 per month |
• Disciplining Statistics by Libby Schweber
• Demography, Education, and the Workforce by Robert I. Lerman
• The Great Demographic Illusion - Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream by Richard Alba
• The Great Demographic Reversal, - Ageing Societies, Waning Inequality, and an Inflation Revival by Charles Goodhart, Manoj Pradhan
• Religious Demography of India - Myths and Realities by Lancy Lobo, Jayesh Shah
• The Anthropological Demography of Health by Véronique Petit, Kaveri Qureshi, Yves Charbit, Philip Kreager
• Demography and the Global Business Environment - by Alfred A. Marcus, Mazhar Islam
• Demography and the Anthropocene by Larry D. Barnett
• Demographers are highly demanded by government and private sectors for population-related data-based research and analysis.
• Demographics are also required by many industries to tell companies exactly how to market and develop their brands so people in the demographic environment.
• Demographers get to learn new things every day through their research hence their job doesn’t get monotonous.
• Demographer has to work in the field at times for impartial research data gathering.
• The work of a demographer can become more of theoretical work than a practical one at times.
• A demographer has to keep him/her self-up with the ever-changing society and population trends.
Take our test and find out if it suits your strengths.