Multireg - A "User-Friendly" Software to Project Population by Multiregional Model

Cláudio C. Machado, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
Moema G.B. Figoli, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

The advantages of using a multi-regional model are very well known in case of population projections that take into account various regions of a country (Rogers, 1994). However, one of its inconveniences is the huge amount of data needed as an input (Hakkert, 1988). The MULTIREG software presented in this paper is intended to be a user-friendly, didactic tool, allowing a simplified entering of data. Data can be introduced in specific screens inside the software or in an EXCELL spreadsheet, which is of general use. Specific fertility, mortality and migration rates can be entered only for the initial and final period, and the software makes the interpolation between the two periods. Besides that, only gross rates and age patterns can be entered, diminishing the amount of data. One example of a projection for the 27 Brazilian States is presented.