Most of us find it most natural to understand and interact with people as individuals. This isn't always feasible, though: when designing a political campaign or evaluating the success of a government program, when marketing a product to millions of people, or when studying a large-scale health issue, the population has to be seen as a statistical group.
Demography and population studies simply do this in a systematic way. Population growth, regional distribution and migration, education, health, and many other factors are studied. The resulting statistics guide economic forecasts, business planning, and public policy.
As a quantitative social science, population studies are inherently multidisciplinary. During a degree course, a student will typically come into contact with political science, sociology, economics, geography, and more.
Data may be gathered by surveys, from existing sources, and increasingly by using online resources. The latter has made it possible to separate populations far more granularly than ever before: instead of being restricted to basic parameters like gender, race, income level, and so on, marketers and planners now have access to a wealth of information on individuals. Processing this data statistically and garnering practically useful conclusions are part of the challenge of demography and population studies.
