Demography - is it just a numbers game?

Abstract

The vast majority of major policy or planning issues facing contemporary Australia have a demographic dimension. A thorough knowledge of this population dimension would not only assist in understanding wider societal forces and processes but is also of substantial interest for its own sake. It is not only concerned with the size distribution and structure of populations but also with the processes whereby they undergo change. Many demographic changes can be readily anticipated, such as numbers of people aged 5 and over, or the number of school entrants. However, there are questions which we cannot be so certain of. The nunber of people who will migrate to Australia and and how many children will be born are such questions.