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 Faces at the MPIDR | September 16, 2026

Welcome, Martina Matthies!

The office of administration at the MPIDR welcomes Martina Matthies as its new Accounting and Bookkeeping Clerk. She will be working alongside Marcel Behse, the Head of Finance and Property. Martina is a trained office administrator and accountant. Before joining the MPIDR, she worked in financial accounting. Last year, while working at a tax office, she also gained valuable insights into tax procedures. Martina is looking forward to applying her knowledge in a targeted and sustainable way to support scientific research. More

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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

BIOSFER

News | September 02, 2026

Worried About the Environment, but Still Becoming Parents

Strong environmental concerns generally did not keep young people from becoming parents. These worries tended to fade with age among parents and non-parents alike. Whether today’s younger generations will follow the same pattern remains an open question. More

Selected Publications

Jiang, S.; Zuo, W.; Guo, Z.; Tuljapurkar, S.:

Changing demographic rates reshape kinship networks Demography 62:3, 899–922. (2025)

Hünteler, B. M.; Hank, K.; Alburez-Gutierrez, D.; Leopold, T.:

A typology of young adults' nuclear and extended family relations in the United States Journal of Marriage and Family 88:1, 284–298. (2026)

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

Press Release | August 05, 2026

Fewer Heart Attacks, More Cancer Cases, and Better Survival Chances

Heart attacks, strokes, and hip fractures are becoming less common. Meanwhile, cancer cases are increasing, and more people are surviving these severe diseases. A new study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Karolinska Institute examines how medical progress has impacted various diseases in Sweden. More