2. History of demography

Throughout history, rulers have been interested in the number of population. This was important for taxation purposes and also, the power of several countries laid on a large number of men fit for military service. In addition, many philosophers pondered about the meaning of the number and structure of population.

The aim of this lesson is to familiarise you with some historical persons central to demography. Most of them cannot be considered actual demographers but they have been involved in matters that later developed into a field of science in its own right - demography. After reading this lesson, you will realise that all through the ages the number of population and its development has been of interest to rulers, scientists and philosophers alike.