Born Oct. 31, 1898, in Villeneuve-de-la-Raho, Eastern Pyrenees. French sociologist, demographer, and economist.
In 1946, Sauvy organized the National Institute of Demographic Studies, which he directed until 1963, while concurrently serving as editor of the journal Population. He became chairman of the department of social demography of the Collège de France in 1959. Sauvy is honorary president of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.
Sauvy developed his basic theories in the work General Population Theory (vols. 1–2, 1952–54). His works reveal a historical approach to demographic processes. A resolute opponent of Malthusianism, Sauvy advanced a program of democratic and structural reforms of France’s socioeconomic system. An advocate of the peaceful coexistence of capitalism and socialism, Sauvy believes that the social prejudices and economic dogmas of modern capitalist society are obstacles to a rational solution of such problems as education, employment, and housing construction.