[2][3] Sauvy was born in Villeneuve-de-la-Raho (Pyrénées-Orientales) in 1898 to a family of Catalan wine-growers, and educated at the École Polytechnique.

After the war, Charles de Gaulle offered to appoint him to the position of General Secretary for Family and Population, but Sauvy preferred to devote himself to demographics.

From 1940 to 1959, he taught at the Institut d’études politiques (IEP) and was Professor of Social Demography at the Collège de France.

He suggested examining countries on a case-by-case basis to determine whether they lack the raw materials and natural resources that can support a larger population.

Otherwise, he thought that we run the risk of underpopulating a country that could support a much larger population[citation needed] Sauvy coined the term 'Third World' in an article published in the French magazine, L'Observateur on August 14, 1952.