Leo van Wissen

Leo van Wissen is a Professor of Economic Demography at the University of Groningen’s Faculty of Spatial Sciences and serves as Vice Dean of the faculty. He holds a concurrent role as Senior Researcher at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) in The Hague, working one day weekly. His research focuses on mortality, migration, demographic forecasting, ageing, and spatial modeling, with a regional emphasis on Europe.

Education:

• MSc and PhD in Human Geography from the Free University of Amsterdam

Research Interests:
His work addresses demographic challenges such as population decline, urbanization impacts on ageing, and the interplay between education and population ageing. He employs quantitative models to analyze spatial dynamics and policy implications. Recent projects include studies on Africa’s demographic challenges and comparative analyses of ageing in Asia and Europe.

Professional Roles:

• President of the Netherlands Demographic Society
• Director of the Graduate School Spatial Sciences
• Member of the NIDI management team

Labs/Teams:
Active in interdisciplinary teams at NIDI and the University of Groningen, focusing on demographic modeling and policy analysis.