POPULATION SCIENCE: GLOBAL AND LOCAL PERSPECTIVES

Population science, commonly referred to as demography, is a scientific discipline that examines the size, structure, distribution, and dynamics of human populations. It focuses on how populations change over time through the processes of fertility, mortality, and migration, as well as how these demographic processes influence social, economic, political, and environmental systems (Weeks, 2021). As societies continue to undergo rapid transformations driven by globalization,technological development, and environmental change, understanding population dynamics has become increasingly important for policy formulation and sustainable development planning. From a development perspective, population plays a dual role as both the subject and object of development. On one hand, population growth and structure determine the availability of human resources that drive economic productivity and social innovation. On the other hand, population dynamics also create demands for public services such as education, healthcare, housing, and employment. Changes in the age structure of a population, for example, can significantly influence labor market conditions, dependency ratios, and long-term economic growth (Lee & Mason, 2021).