Our Mission

Founded in 1996, the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany is one of the world's leading institutions for demographic research. We reveal, model and predict fundamental processes of fertility, mortality and migration dynamics with the aim of advancing population science. We investigate areas for which a deep understanding is necessary to tackle key challenges for our society. We address topics related to policy such as demographic change, aging, inequalities, the distribution of work over the life course, generational equity, sustainability, and the digitalization of life.

The MPIDR is dedicated to the promotion of groundbreaking basic research, academic freedom and scientific discourse. We support the exchange and dissemination of knowledge through open data and open science. Together with partner institutions and experts around the world, our researchers create, maintain, and expand open-access demographic databases of the highest quality.

Our researchers work at the frontiers of knowledge. They explore areas where appropriate methods, tests, and analyses do not yet exist. They do not shy away from risky projects and pilot new methods others do not dare to try. At the MPIDR, demographic research is constantly being reinvented. The MPIDR has a unique scientific and administrative infrastructure that allows us to conduct particularly innovative and challenging research.

The focus on equality, cooperation, fairness and decency enables our more than 120 staff members from around the world to work successfully on a wide range of topics. Our internal goals include enabling each staff member to realize their full potential, and providing the best possible training for early-career scientists. The MPIDR provides doctoral training for junior researchers in an inspiring environment allowing them to learn from the best in the field.

Working with our global partners, we advance methods and theories and provide answers to pressing scientific and societal questions. We aim for a future in which demographic knowledge, based on high-quality data and innovative methods, empowers humanity to work towards a more equitable, sustainable and healthier world.