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.

Award | May 21, 2026

Elena Pojman Receives 2025 IPUMS Time Use Research Award

The MPIDR is happy to share that Elena Pojman received the 2025 IPUMS Time Use Research Award in the Student Division for her research on "Racial-Ethnic Stratification in Women’s Kin Caregiving Burden Across the Life Course in the United States." More

June

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June

Conference

Kinship Structures, Dynamics, and Inequalities

This conference will bring together scholars from various disciplines to consider how large-scale sociodemographic shifts reshape family systems within and beyond the household and how these changes contribute to, reproduce, or mitigate social and economic inequality. More

All Events

MPIDR on Tour

EPC 2026 in Bologna

Conference@MPIDR

Kinship Structures, Dynamics, and Inequalities

Introduction to our research groups

Migration and Health Inequalities

Press Release | April 23, 2026

Men Have Fewer Children Than Women

Researchers investigated whether men or women have fewer children. Using international datasets, they demonstrate that imbalances in population structure, particularly an increasing proportion of men, affect male fertility. While men used to have higher fertility than women globally, this has reversed, and women have and will have a higher fertility rate than men. The scientists offer recommendations to counteract the social implications of this trend. More

Selected Publications

Sobotka, T.; Zeman, K.; Jasilioniene, A.; Winkler-Dworak, M.; Brzozowska, Z.; Alustiza Galarza, A.; Németh, L.; Jdanov, D. A.:

Pandemic roller-coaster? Birth trends in higher-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic Population and Development Review, 1–36. (2023)

Lorenti, A.; De Rose, A.; Racioppi, F.:

Volunteering during early retirement reduces depression Social Science and Medicine 367:117790, 1–12. (2025)

More Publications