demographic
dem-uh-GRAF-ik
/ˌdem.əˈɡræf.ɪk/
A particular sector of a population, typically defined by age, income, education, or gender.
Usually refers to the 'who' of an audience (hard data) rather than the 'why' (psychographics).
The story behind the word. The word literally means 'writing about the people.' It was first used in the 19th century to describe the statistical study of human populations.
Word relationships
- population: Population refers to everyone in an area; demographic refers to a specific subset.
Commonly confused with
- psychographic: Demographics are external (age, race), while psychographics are internal (values, attitudes).
Word family
- demography (noun): The study of statistics such as births, deaths, or income.
Collocations
- target demographic
- demographic shift
- key demographic
Example sentences
- "The 18-to-24-year-old demographic is notoriously difficult for traditional television networks to reach." Advertising targeting.
- "Our primary demographic is urban professionals with an interest in organic gardening." Business expansion.
Memory hook
Demo = People (like Democracy); Graphic = Data/Writing. People-Data. The 'who' in the data.
When not to use
Do not use it to describe a person's personality; use it for statistical traits.
Fun facts
- The term 'Demographic Winter' is used by some sociologists to describe declining birth rates.
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