Founded in 1945, the role of the Institut national d'études démographiques (INED) is to "study demographic problems in all their aspects. To this end, the Institute will collect the relevant documentation, conduct surveys, carry out experiments and follow experiments conducted abroad." In its early days, INED was also responsible for "studying the material and moral means which may contribute to the quantitative growth of the population and its qualitative development, and ensuring the dissemination of demographic knowledge".
Alfred Sauvy, co-founder of the Institute alongside Robert Debré, was appointed as its first director. An economist, statistician and demographer, but also a journalist and writer, Alfred Sauvy sought from the outset to give INED a multidisciplinary profile and welcomed researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds. During his years as director (1945-1962), a "French school of demography" was born, and INED established its solid international reputation.
In 1986, INED became a public scientific and technological establishment (EPST) under the joint supervision of the Ministry for Employment, Labour and Social Cohesion and the Ministry of Education and Research*. Its status as an EPST, identical to that of CNRS, INSERM and INRA, provides a guarantee of scientific independence.
* INED is currently under the joint supervision of the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry for Employment, Labour and Social Cohesion.