German Society for Demography

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Demographie (DGD), or German Society for Demography, is a politically independent association of scientists and scientifically interested or active individuals and institutions working in demography or adjacent fields. Its seat is in Berlin. The society was formed in 2001 through the merger of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Bevölkerungswissenschaft and the Johann-Peter-Süßmilch-Gesellschaft für Demographie. The DGD promotes demographic research and teaching as well as exchange between academia and societal actors. Its stated goals are the dissemination of demographic knowledge and the improvement of capacities to act in response to demographic change. It organizes conferences, working groups, and sessions—such as the Call for Abstracts of its working group "Mortalität, Morbidität und Alterung" for the Statistische Woche on 8–11 September 2026, which focuses on heat- and cold-associated excess mortality and methodological challenges in analyzing climate-associated mortality. The society is led by a president and vice-president. Since 2025, the president is Bernhard Köppen of the University of Koblenz, and the vice-president is Christina Westphal. The DGD is a registered association (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) and operates primarily in Germany, serving as a hub for demographers, statisticians, physicians, sociologists, historians, and administrative professionals. As a scientific society rather than a commercial enterprise, the DGD's "offerings" are its conferences, working groups, publications, and networking opportunities. It does not sell products or services in the conventional market sense, but it functions as a brand-like institutional platform for the German demographic research community.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Demographie (DGD) was formed on 22 June 2001 through the merger of two German scientific societies active in demography: the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (DGBW) and the Johann-Peter-Süßmilch-Gesellschaft für Demographie. The merger aimed to foster synergies given the growing public importance of demographic questions. The DGD's seat is Berlin. Its first president was Herwig Birg, and its first vice-president was Eckart Elsner. The predecessor DGBW was founded in 1952 in Hamburg as a scientific association of physicians, statisticians, sociologists, historians, and high-ranking administrative officials, many of whom had been active in the fields of racial hygiene and population science during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi regime. Its academic students were also organized in the association. In 1953, complementing the DGBW, the Deutsche Akademie für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (DABW) was founded at the University of Hamburg as a coordination center for university research projects on population science questions. The first chairman of the DGBW and first president of the DABW was the Hamburg social hygienist Hans Harmsen. The last chairman of the DGBW was Rainer Mackensen. The Johann-Peter-Süßmilch-Gesellschaft für Demographie was founded in 1990 in Berlin on the initiative of demographers from the former East Germany (DDR). Its chairman was Professor Eckart Elsner of the Statistical Office of Berlin. Since the merger, the DGD has continued to serve as a platform for demographic research and exchange in Germany. It organizes conferences, working groups, and sessions at events such as the Statistische Woche. As of 2025, the president is Bernhard Köppen of the University of Koblenz, and the vice-president is Christina Westphal.

• 2025

  Bernhard Köppen becomes president; Christina Westphal becomes vice-president.

• 2001

  DGBW and Johann-Peter-Süßmilch-Gesellschaft merge to form the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Demographie (DGD) on 22 June.

• 1990

  Johann-Peter-Süßmilch-Gesellschaft für Demographie founded in Berlin.

• 1953

  Deutsche Akademie für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (DABW) founded at the University of Hamburg.

• 1952

  Deutsche Gesellschaft für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (DGBW) founded in Hamburg.

Politically independent scientific association promoting demographic research and knowledge transfer in Germany.

• Working group 'Mortalität, Morbidität und Alterung'

  A DGD working group that organizes sessions and calls for abstracts, e.g., for the Statistische Woche 2026 on heat- and cold-associated mortality.

1. 1Deutsche Gesellschaft für Demographie e.V. – Official Websitedgd-online.de
2. 2Deutsche Gesellschaft für Demographie – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Deutsche Gesellschaft für Demographie – Wikidatawikidata.org