School of Demography

Researchers including Dr Vladimir Canudas-Romo from the ANU School of Demography have published new findings in The Lancet, revealing reasons for the long-life residents of Hong Kong enjoy, and offering valuable lessons for developed and developing populations around the world.

Dr Iwu Dwisetyani Utomo, a much respected friend and colleague from the School of Demography has passed away after a brief illness.

Dr Utomo had a long affiliation with the ANU. She gained her PhD from the Demography Program at ANU in 1998, and returned as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2000 when she received the Merdeka Fellowship Award. Between 2002 and 2008 she was located at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health where she worked on research projects about gender, sexuality and health, including an ARC project on Harmful Sexual Practices in Southeast Asia.

What issues drive researchers and students in their pursuit of understanding, at the ANU School of Demography? Find out in this video. The ANU School of Demography features leading researchers, whose work explores topical issues including fertility and family, mortality and ageing, and immigration.

Demography is essential to understanding and shaping the world around us. It's about understanding how populations change across place and time. Using knowledge from the social and economic sciences, biological and medical sciences, and skills from mathematics and computer science. This understanding is essential to understanding the transitions and challenges in society today and into the future.

Populations are shaped by the interaction of the ever-changing processes of birth, death and migration. Demographic transition to low fertility and low mortality in industrialised populations is accompanied by population ageing. Migration may be viewed as a response to inequalities in ageing and socio-economic development with far-reaching policy implications.

For more information visit theproject page.

Home to close to 60 per cent of the world’s population, Asia is the largest and by far the most populous continent. It is also extremely diverse, physically and culturally. Asian countries and regions have their own distinctive histories, cultural traditions, religious beliefs and political systems, and they have often pursued different routes to development. Asian populations also present a striking array of demographic characteristics and stages of demographic transition.

Research in the area of fertility and family formation investigates the dynamic nature of the family types in which people live, changes in family formation behaviour, and the work-family balance. Studies include the development of new methodologies for monitoring fertility trends, sex preference for children in Australia, living apart together relationships, non-marital childbearing, pathways to first births, repartnering following separation, and negotiating the life course for Australians. This research aims to contribute to the advancement of family policy.

The ANU School of Demography conducts research in the three inter-related issues of mortality, ageing and health. Research on mortality and health focuses on several key determinants, including smoking, excess body weight, air pollution and socio-economic factors; on demographic interrelations such as migration and mortality; and on mortality at the oldest ages. As a result of past and recent successes in reducing mortality, longevity continues to increase, presenting many challenges at the individual, family and society levels.

Prof James Raymer is the First Named Chief Investigator and works on this project with Tom Wilson from The University of Queensland

New in 2020, the Major in Demography aims to equip students to navigate tomorrow's changing society.