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.
Recap | October 28, 2026
Halfway through the BIOSFER Project
The BIOSFER project investigates how social, biological, and psychological factors influence emerging fertility patterns among young adults, as well as the extent to which the decline in fertility and its polarization can be attributed to social and biomedical factors. The project is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), and Aarhus University (AU). In late September, all participants gathered at the Harnack House in Berlin. The BIOSFER 3.5 meeting marked the midpoint of the project. More
October
29
Scientific Presentations
SeminarTalks@DCD
Pablo Gracia from the Autonomous University of Barcelona gives a talk. More
All Events
Call for Research Contributions
Rethinking Fertility Relationally
Recommended Readings | October 27, 2026
Who You Know, and Where You Work: What Shapes Researchers’ First Career Moves
Introduction to our research groups
Gender Inequalities and Fertility
Family | October 07, 2026
Parenthood with Multiple Partners
A new study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) reveals that gender and social background influence the complexity of families in different ways throughout people's lives. Even in highly gender-equal Nordic countries, social inequalities in family formation persist. More
Selected Publications
Li, P.; Myrskylä, M.; Martikainen, P.:
Long-term environmental background radiation is associated with urinary tract cancer incidence: a population-based study from Finland Cancer Epidemiology 99:102912, 1–10. (2025)
Loi, S.; Li, P.; Myrskylä, M.:
Unequal weathering: how immigrants’ health advantage vanishes over the life-course Journal of Migration and Health 11:100303, 1–11. (2025)
More Publications
Call for Papers
Special Collection | Demographic Research | Kinship Demography: Structures, Dynamics, and Inequalities
New Issue 3/2026 available | October 06, 2026
The Quarterly German Newsletter
Questions and Answers
Being a Researcher at the MPIDR
Working at MPIDR
Life & Research in Rostock
Career
Open Positions
Postdoc/Research Scientist in the Kinship Inequalities Research Group University of Hong Kong – Max Planck PhD Studentship in Population Studies Population and Social Data Science Summer Incubator Program More
A peer-reviewed, open-access journal of population sciences
Perspectives
Blog@MPIDR
Doctoral Program
International Max Planck Research School for Population, Health and Data Science
News | September 30, 2026
New Horizon Europe Project LIFe Traces Inequalities Across Lives and Generations
How much do the circumstances of your birth shape where you end up as an adult? The project LIFe (Intergenerational Fairness: A Life-Course Approach) brings together research and policy-analysis institutions across Europe to examine how advantages and disadvantages build up over entire lifetimes and across generations. MPIDR’s Department of Digital and Computational Demography will take a leading role in modelling demographic and health developments. More