POPLINK

The database POPLINK is a longitudinal population database under construction with the support of Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and Umeå University. The database contains personal data of the regions Umeå and Skellefteå during the period 1700-1950. In the beginning of 2014, there was information on approximately 600 000 individuals, 3,3 millions entries and up to 15 generations. This makes POPLINK to one of the world’s largest and most detailed population databases. The database is a resource in many areas of research. Not least because of the possibility to link together POPLINK with other modern registers. This means, among other things, that the life sciences can investigate how nature and nurture influence the development of our most common national diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Within the social sciences and the humanities, the increasing access to personal records brings about an opportunity for new perspectives on the rise of the welfare state and the time that shaped the modern Sweden. POPLINK is a research database, which means that only academic researchers can be given access after approval from the Regional Ethical Review Board. Purpose: The Demographic Database (DDB) is a special unit at Umeå University with activities focused on two main areas: data production and research. DDB creates and makes available population databases, mainly based on historical information in parish registers during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.