Department Profile
The Department of Demography was founded on the initiative of Professor Roubíček in 1990, and Professor Roubíček became its first head. However, it was not an entirely new institution at the time – it was a transformation of the former Demography Laboratory, which had already been established in 1969, into an independent department. The Demography Laboratory had been a part of the Statistics Department for many years, and most of the current members of the Department of Demography were previously members of the Statistics Department.
In the academic year 2007/08, the Department of Demography introduced a new bachelor’s program in Socio-Economic Demography as part of the Quantitative Methods in Economics study program. Currently, the department oversees the bachelor’s program in Economic Demography within the Mathematical Methods in Economics program. Starting from the academic year 2010/11, it is also possible to pursue a follow-up master’s program in Economic Demography.
The Department of Demography aims to familiarize students with contemporary demographic trends, their logic, and their consequences, as well as the theory that is essential for understanding current developments. For those interested in a deeper understanding of demography, the department offers a specialization in Demography and Social Analysis.
Naturally, the department also engages in scientific research. Its members have worked on numerous grants.
In 1999, the department successfully completed a project funded by the Czech Science Foundation on Mortality in the Czech Lands in the 1990s. In 2001, they successfully concluded another project on Fertility in the Czech Lands in the 1990s, also funded by the Czech Science Foundation. Additionally, they worked on a research grant under the GRACES program on Population Aging and Pension Systems in European Union Countries. In 2004, they successfully completed a project on What to Do with the Economic Consequences of Our Aging Population?, funded by the Czech Science Foundation. Since 2006, its members have been involved in the long-term project 2D06026 Human Capital Reproduction, funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, as part of the National Research Program II. The department continues to be highly successful in grant activities, as evidenced by ongoing projects such as Economics of Successful Aging or Alcohol burden in the Czech Republic: mortality, morbidity and social context.