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The notion that slaves accounted for one-third of a given historical population has long been popular in those cases in which the actual share of slaves is thought to be significant but is actually completely unknown. A smaller male-biased population characterized by high productivity and high attrition and a larger and more balanced one with low productivity and low attrition would ultimately have required similar numbers of imports.

A comprehensive quantitative model of population transfers within, to, and from Italy, from the late fourth century B.C. to the first century A.D. is presented. It is argued that during the last two centuries B.C., between two and four million slaves were imported to Italy, and that the resultant slave population of around one to one-and-half million was significantly smaller than commonly assumed.

This article discusses the demography of ancient Rome, focusing on life expectancy and age distribution. The impact of war, disease, and famine on mortality rates is discussed.