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 Faces at MPIDR | December 09, 2025

Welcome Aijie Zhang!

The Laboratory of Fertility and Wellbeing welcomes Aijie Zhang as a PhD student. Her doctoral research will focus on fertility dynamics and patterns in high-income countries. She joins us after completing her Master's degree in Economics at the University of Bonn. Beyond this primary focus, her academic interests also include institutions, gender, inequality and criminology. More

December

Scientific Presentations

Talks@BIOSFER

2:00 PM: Talk with Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist (MPIDR) - ADHD and family formation
2:20 PM: Talk with Huong Thu Nguyen (NIPH) - Can unsuccessful ART cycles be an indication of an increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease among women? A Norwegian registry-linkage study
2:40 PM: Talk with Anne Hjorth Thomsen (Aarhus University) - Parental socioeconomic position and fertility intentions in young adults More

All Events

Call for Application

Population and Social Data Science Summer Incubator Program

Call for Papers

Conference: Kinship Structures, Dynamics, and Inequalities

Introduction to our research groups

Gender Inequalities and Fertility

Gaza | November 25, 2025

Study Reveals Unprecedented Losses of Life and Life Expectancy

A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the ongoing conflict in Gaza on mortality. They estimate that 78,318 (70,614-87,504) people were killed in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and December 31, 2024. As a result, life expectancy in Gaza in 2024 fell to nearly half the level expected without the war. An update of their analysis, produced after the publication of the study, revealed that the current violent death toll likely exceeds 100,000. More

Selected Publications

van Damme, M.; Alburez-Gutierrez, D.; Castro Torres, A. F.:

Research note: estimating kinship size of older adults in Europe with models and surveys Demography, 1–10. (2025)

van Raalte, A. A.; Basellini, U.; Camarda, C. G.; Nepomuceno, M. R.; Myrskylä, M.:

The dangers of drawing cohort profiles from period data: a research note Demography, 1–10. (2023)

More Publications

Recommended Readings | November 11, 2025

Rethinking Formal Demography: Birth as an Event Experienced by the Child

Career

Open Positions

Questions and Answers

Being a Researcher at the MPIDR

Working at MPIDR

Life & Research in Rostock

New articles every week

New Issue 3/2025 available | September 25, 2025

The Quarterly German Newsletter

Press Release | July 02, 2025

Rapid Demographic Changes Reshape Family Structures

Open Access

Online Available Books

Workshop | December 08, 2025

New Research Questions for Climate Change

In mid-November, numerous scientists from around the world gathered at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock to discuss the topic of “Climate Change, Environmental Hazards and Population Dynamics” at a workshop initiated by Risto Conte Keivabu, Ebru Sanlitürk, Daniela Perrotta, Emilio Zagheni and Raya Muttarak (University of Bologna) and the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Population Dynamics under Global Conflict and Climate Change. More