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.

Press Release | August 05, 2026

Fewer Heart Attacks, More Cancer Cases, and Better Survival Chances

Heart attacks, strokes, and hip fractures are becoming less common. Meanwhile, cancer cases are increasing, and more people are surviving these severe diseases. A new study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Karolinska Institute examines how medical progress has impacted various diseases in Sweden. More

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October

Preparatory courses at the MPIDR

European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD)

The European Doctoral School of Demography is an eleven-month sponsored program that is offered every year aiming to provide students with an appropriate high-level education in demography to pursue their doctoral studies. Students will acquire a solid knowledge base on the causes and consequences of demographic change, population data, statistical and mathematical demography, as well as modeling, simulation, and forecasting. More

All Events

Conference

MPIDR@ALAP2026

New Issue 2/2026 available | June 30, 2026

The Quarterly German Newsletter

Introduction to our research groups

Migration and Mobility

Publication | July 30, 2026

Individual-Level Mortality Predictions: Statistical Models vs. Machine Learning

Researchers investigated whether traditional statistical and machine learning models could achieve a similarly high level of accuracy in predicting individual-level lifespan. Overall, the results show that machine learning does not significantly improve mortality predictions compared to conventional methods. More

Selected Publications

Myrskylä, M.; Hellstrand, J.; Lappo, S.; Lorenti, A.; Nisén, J.; Rao, Z.; Tikanmäki, H.:

Declining fertility, human capital investment, and economic sustainability Demography 62:2, 489–514. (2025)

Andrade Santacruz, J. C.; Camarda, C. G.; Pifarré i Arolas, H.:

Cohort mortality forecasts indicate signs of deceleration in life expectancy gains Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 122:35, e2519179122–e2519179122. (2025)

More Publications