Population Composition: Biosocial Characteristics

This chapter gets at the “heart” of the demographic endeavor as it describes the various attributes that are used to describe populations from a demographic perspective. This chapter considers the biosocial characteristics that define a population and describes the manner in which characteristics like ageAge, sexSex and raceRace not only serve to profile a population but have important implications for the demographic processes. Trends in the composition of the US population are reviewed in this chapter and the changing nature of US society described.