Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

We study the structure and dynamics of populations and explore issues of political relevance, such as aging, fertility, and the redistribution of work over the life course, as well as digitization and the use of new data sources for the estimation of migration flows.

New Publication | April 16, 2026

People With a Similar Risk of Divorce are More Likely to Marry Each Other

A study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health found that spouses tend to be very similar in terms of their risk of separation. Marriage is shaped not only by a person's own background, but also by that of their partner. The analysis of over 350,000 Norwegian marriages reveals a previously underestimated phenomenon: people with a similar risk of divorce tend to marry one another. More

April

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April

Scientific Conference

BIOSFER Synergy Camp

The BIOSFER Synergy Camp brings together the teams of NIPH, AU and MPIDR to work on their joint projects. This iteration of the synergy camp series will take place at Sandbjerg Gods, Denmark and is hosted by the University of Aarhus. More

All Events

Pre-Conference EPC Workshop

Climate Demography: Population Dynamics in a Changing Climate

Recommended Readings | April 02, 2026

Family Complexity Influences Health in Mid-Adulthood

Introduction to our research groups

Migration and Mobility

Press Release | March 05, 2026

Weaponizing Kinship

In a recent study published in the journal Population and Development Review, researchers quantified how many Colombians have ever lost at least a family member to conflict-related violence in the country. These killings and disappearances can be considered a deliberate tactic to destabilize families and communities. More

Selected Publications

Basellini, U.:

Open science practices in demographic research: an appraisal Demographic Research 50:43, 1265–1280. (2024)

Sobotka, T.; Zeman, K.; Jasilioniene, A.; Winkler-Dworak, M.; Brzozowska, Z.; Alustiza Galarza, A.; Németh, L.; Jdanov, D. A.:

Pandemic roller-coaster? Birth trends in higher-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic Population and Development Review, 1–36. (2023)

More Publications

New Issue 1/2026 available | March 31, 2026

The Quarterly German Newsletter

Career

Open Positions

Human Resources Administrator
Coordinator for IMPRS-PHDS

Questions and Answers

Being a Researcher at the MPIDR

Working at MPIDR

Life & Research in Rostock

Pre-Conference EPC Workshop

Demographic Microsimulation in R using SOCSIM – Modelling Population and Kinship Dynamics

Pre-Conference EPC Workshop

Health, Morbidity and Mortality Working Group Side Meeting

Latest Publications

MPIDR@PAA2026

Introduction to Digital Trace Data for Migration Studies

Kick off | March 25, 2026

University of Malawi and MPIDR Launch Exciting New Research Cooperation

In September 2025, Ben Malinga John became the head of the Max Planck Partner Group UNIMAX at the University of Malawi (UNIMA) in Zomba. Previously, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in the Laboratory of Fertility and Well-Being. In February, he and his colleagues from Department of Sociology and Population at the University of Malawi hosted a kickoff workshop for the new Partner Group "UNIMAX: New Perspectives On The Demography Of The Family In Sub-Saharan Africa". The event, convened in Blantyre, focused on "Advancing New Perspectives and Methodologies in Population, Health, and Family Research in Sub-Saharan Africa". More