Socioeconomic or Socio-economic? (Helpful Examples)

There are two different ways to spell “socioeconomic.” You might have come across it as one or two words (either hyphenated or unhyphenated). This article will look at which is the correct version and how to use it.

Socioeconomic vs. Socio-economic

“Socioeconomic” is correct in American English, while “socio-economic” is correct in British English. Both forms are correct and mean the same thing, and the only differences come from language preferences that treat the hyphen as an over-complication (in American English).

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “socioeconomic” is by far the most popular choice in American English. This shows that it’s the only one that most American English writers will choose to use.

According to Google Ngram Viewer, the two forms are almost identical in usage in British English. Historically, it’s clear that “socio-economic” is more popular, but the recent trend line indicates that “socioeconomic” is slowly becoming more popular than it.

Both forms are recognized in The Cambridge Dictionary and The Oxford Dictionary. We can refer to entries for “socioeconomic,” which is listed as a “mainly US” adjective to talk about certain things.

Both dictionaries also look into “socio-economic” as the UK variation. The hyphen is common between the two words to help us distinguish between their meaning.

It will also help us refer to The New York Times website to investigate American English usage more.

On their website, we can see that “socioeconomic” is mentioned 6,970 times while “socio-economic” is mentioned 1,480 times. These numbers show that the unhyphenated version is more popular for American English writers.

The Daily Mail News site can be used when we want to do the same investigations for British English.

On their website, we can see that “socio-economic” is mentioned 1,850 times while “socioeconomic” is mentioned 1,290 times. These numbers are much closer, which is more in line with what we saw in the graph from above.

Socioeconomic

“Socioeconomic” is correct in both American and British English. However, it’s much more useful in American English. It’s common for hyphens to be dropped in American English to aid simplicity. If the hyphen is deemed unnecessary, it will be left out.

Since it’s fairly easy to distinguish between “socio” and “economic” in writing, American English dropped the hyphen between them.

Check these examples out to help you understand it:

1. The socioeconomic ladder is constantly shifting, and we need to be prepared for that.
2. I wish there was enough room for socioeconomic change, but I don’t see it happening.
3. Socioeconomic problems are the least of the government’s concerns right now.
4. I think you have to reevaluate your socioeconomic policies if you want to win the trust of the people.

Socio-economic

“Socio-economic” is most commonly hyphenated in British English. The hyphen is kept because it stays truer to common English rules that allow us to use hyphens in adjectives when they are made of more than one word. “Social” and “economic” are the root words used here.

We can refer to the AP Stylebook guidelines to learn how the hyphenation works for adjectives. If more than one word modifies a noun, we must always hyphenate them to show a common link that affects the sentence.

While “socio” isn’t a recognized word, it is a branch of the original “social” word that it refers to. That’s why it’s important to keep the hyphen in place here.

Check these examples out if you’re not sure how it can work:

1. I think socio-economic changes are going to happen under the new Prime Minister.
2. Socio-economic government policies are rubbish! I never trust a word of them!
3. I think you should check out what you can do about the socio-economic issues around here.
4. Socio-economic problems are all over the place. You need to start working on one before the others fall in line.

Is “Economic” Capitalized In The Word “Socio-Economic”?

“Socio-economic” is not a proper noun. Therefore, you do not have to worry about capitalizing either part of the hyphenated form.

However, if you include it as part of your title, you might find it useful for both parts to be capitalized. This is only true if you capitalize every other word in the title. “Socio-Economic” will work much better to stay true to the rest of your style.