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DEMOGRAPHY

Study of Human Population, Fifth Edition

Textbook Overview

Demography Textbook Cover

Demography

The Study of Human Population

  • Authors: Jennifer Hickes Lundquist, Eiko Strader, Douglas L. Anderton, and David Yaukey
  • Publisher: Waveland Press, Inc.
  • Edition: 5th
  • Publication Year: 2026
  • Subject: Sociology / Demography / Population Studies

Purchase

  • Print Length: 523 pages
  • List Price: $79.95
  • Format: Paperback | eBook
  • ISBN-10: 1-4786-5761-8
  • ISBN-13: 978-1-4786-5761-3
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Table of Contents

  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Demographic Data
  3. 3. Population Growth
  4. 4. Age and Sex Structure
  5. 5. Mortality
  6. 6. Morbidity and Health
  7. 7. Fertility
  8. 8. Unions and Householding
  9. 9. Migration
  10. 10. Urbanization
  11. 11. Population Diversity
  12. Glossary

About the Book

Population processes are deeply social, and shocks reverberate unevenly across race, class, gender, and place. The pandemic reshaped fertility, mortality, migration, and family life—and made long-standing structural inequalities visible. Demographic forces influence every aspect of society, including economic development, public health, education, the labor force, environmental sustainability, and public policy. In this widely acclaimed and accessible text, the authors compare, contrast, and synthesize the population processes in which we all participate into understandable trends. Learning how population dynamics affect societies and the relations between nations and regions of the world provides a solid foundation for approaching the challenges we face today. Engaging explanations of demographic analysis prepare readers for understanding the problems of society and the policies implemented to address them.

The fifth edition is thoroughly updated with new data, examples, and discussions of emerging issues, such as the aging of the population and the growth of megacities. Extensive figures, tables, and maps highlight trends and facilitate comparisons among world regions. End-of-chapter exercises help readers become comfortable with the quantitative tools used by demographers. Propositions for debate engage readers in applying the concepts they learned. Profiles of professionals in the field showcase a wide range of career paths across public health, government statistical agencies, NGOs, tech, and the private sector. The authors’ goal is to equip readers with conceptual tools and empirical habits of mind that travel well beyond a course in demography. If future cohorts of readers insist on transparent statistics and use evidence to confront ignorance and improve human well-being, then demography will have done its job.

About the Authors

Jennifer Hickes Lundquist is Professor of Sociology and Senior Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A sociologist and demographer holding a joint Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, her research investigates how institutions shape inequality, intimacy, and social structures across diverse domains, including digital technologies, family life, higher education, and the military. Her scholarship has been published in leading academic journals such as the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, and Social Forces. Her work has also been recognized with major honors, including the Chancellor's Medal at UMass Amherst, alongside prestigious grant support from the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She joined the textbook as a co-author beginning with the third edition.

Eiko Strader holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at the George Washington University, where she also serves as Director of Graduate Studies in WGSS. A sociologist holding a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, her research examines how welfare state policies, public organizations, and work-family contexts shape social stratification and intersectional inequality. Her work has appeared in prominent journals such as Gender & Society, Public Administration Review, and Social Forces. Her honors include a Pardee RAND Faculty Leadership Fellowship, the Council of Graduate Schools ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, and the Columbian College Award for Excellence in Graduate Faculty Mentoring. She assisted with the fourth edition and joined as a co-author for this fifth edition.

Douglas L. Anderton is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Utah. A quantitative sociologist and demographer, his research focuses on historical demography, environmental health risks, and population dynamics. He has published extensively in leading academic journals such as the American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, and Demography, and joined as co-author of this textbook beginning with the second edition.

David Yaukey (1927–2013) was Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Specializing in international demography, he earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington. His pioneering 1958 fertility survey in Lebanon helped pave the way for family planning programs worldwide. He published widely in his field, including this demography textbook for which he was the sole author of the first edition.