Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Press Release | April 23, 2026

Men Have Fewer Children Than Women

Researchers investigated whether men or women have fewer children. Using international datasets, they demonstrate that imbalances in population structure, particularly an increasing proportion of men, affect male fertility. While men used to have higher fertility than women globally, this has reversed, and women have and will have a higher fertility rate than men. The scientists offer recommendations to counteract the social implications of this trend.  More

Blog@MPIDR | Life at the Institute | April 30, 2026

My Internship at the MPIDR

Johann Behrendt was a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock from February to April. He is currently studying psychology in Leipzig. In the MPIDR blog, he describes his experiences as a research intern gaining an insight into a scientific discipline other than his own.  More

PHD | April 28, 2026

Congratulations, ­­Chia-Jung Tsai!

Chia-Jung Tsai from the Laboratory of Migration and Mobility at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), successfully defended her doctoral thesis, “Factors Shaping Public Attitudes and Responses to Refugee and Immigrant Populations: Examining the Interplay of Demographics, Media, and Contextual Influences“, at the University Pompeu Fabra. Her findings contribute to our understanding of how public opinion toward refugees and immigrants is shaped by various factors, such as the media, demographic composition, and the COVID-19 pandemic.  More