The emphasis in demographic research has been to understand processes occurring within populations, but not on how populations respond as a whole to large-scale processes and phenomena. Here, I present research assessing demographic patterns in populations of herbaceous perennials worldwide. Data on over 300 populations of roughly 120 species were analyzed. Certain trade-offs, such as reproductive costs and sprouting costs, exhibited a latitudinal gradient and relationships to some climatic factors. Mean life expectancy also exhibited such relationships. I describe these patterns and patterns related strongly to population dynamics, and contrast these patterns at the global to the local and regional scales.