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 Publication | September 24, 2026

Student Migration to the UK set to Decline by 2030

British universities face a potential funding crisis by 2030, as the number of international undergraduate students—is expected to stagnate or decline. This is the conclusion of a new study by University College London (UCL), the University of Liverpool, and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR). More

September

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October

Preparatory courses at the MPIDR

European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD)

The European Doctoral School of Demography is an eleven-month sponsored program that is offered every year aiming to provide students with an appropriate high-level education in demography to pursue their doctoral studies. Students will acquire a solid knowledge base on the causes and consequences of demographic change, population data, statistical and mathematical demography, as well as modeling, simulation, and forecasting. More

All Events

Recommended Readings | September 14, 2026

Comparison of Microsimulated and Register-based Kinship Data

IDEM 187 - Call for Application

Topics in Digital and Computational Demography

Introduction to our research groups

Simulation of Socio-Demographic Systems

News | September 22, 2026

When unemployment ripples across generations: Jobless children, worried parents

In India, parents of unemployed adult children face higher depression risk, especially in more unequal states, while strong social ties may offer some protection. More

Selected Publications

Ebeling, M.; Mühlichen, M.; Talbäck, M.; Rau, R.; Goedel, A.; Klüsener, S.:

Disease incidence and not case fatality drives the rural disadvantage in myocardial-infarction-related mortality in Germany Preventive Medicine 179:107833, 1–8. (2024)

Gueltzow, M.; Oude Groeniger, J.; Bijlsma, M. J.; Jansen, P. W.; Houweling, T. A. J.; van Lenthe, F. J.:

Childhood obesity's influence on socioeconomic disparities in young adolescents’ mental health Annals of Epidemiology 94, 19–26. (2024)

More Publications

Career

Open Positions

Anniversary

30 Years MPIDR in Rostock

Questions and Answers

Being a Researcher at the MPIDR

Working at MPIDR

Life & Research in Rostock

New Issue 2/2026 available | June 30, 2026

The Quarterly German Newsletter

A peer-reviewed, open-access journal of population sciences

MPIDR

Online Databases

Doctoral Program

International Max Planck Research School for Population, Health and Data Science

Blog@MPIDR | September 17, 2026

Yesterday’s Family Model, Tomorrow’s Demographic Reality?

Low birth rates, an aging population, and labor shortages: political debates often present a surprisingly simple answer to all three — more babies. Yet a narrow focus on birth rates risks overlooking the conditions in which children are born and raised, as well as the far-reaching effects pronatalist policies can have on women’s lives. At the same time, conservative ideas about family and gender roles are making a comeback. But do these traditional family models actually hold up against demographic realities? A closer look at Germany — and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in particular — suggests otherwise. More