The Population Research Unit’s research combines demography with perspectives and approaches from various disciplines. The studies focus particularly in the health and mortality differences, population ageing, social disadvantage, as well as childbearing and family-related events. The unit’s research uses diverse register data, genetic and clinical information from surveys, clinical samples as well as their different combinations. In addition to studies focusing on the Finnish society, the unit participates in international collaborations.

The unit organizes the doctoral seminar Population, Health and Living Conditions in collaboration with the Doctoral Programme in Social Sciences. The head of the Population Research Unit is Pekka Martikainen, Professor of Demography.