family - demography

what is demography

the term used for the study of the characteristics of human populations (e.g. size, structure, how they change over time) → info is obtained from a wide range of sources, mainly the census

what are the main 4 factors which influence a country’s population

1. births

2. deaths

3. immigration

4. emigration

what is birth rate

the no. of live births per 1000 of the population each year

what is fertility rate

a general term which is used to describe either the general fertility rate or the total fertility rate

what is the general fertility rate

the no. of live births per 1000 women of child bearing age (15-44) per year

what is the total fertility rate (TFR)

the average no. of children women will have during their child bearing years

what is infant mortality rate

the no. of deaths of babies in the first year of life per 1000 live births per year

what is the death rate

the no. of deaths per 1000 of the population per year

what is life expectancy

an estimate of how long the average person can be expected to live

what is the dependent population

the section of the population which is not in work and is supported by those who are (e.g. under 18s, pensioners, the unemployed)

what is a dependent age group

those under age 17 (age 18 from 2025) in compulsory education, and those over retirement age

what is migration

changing the country of usual residence for a period of at least a year, so the country of destination becomes the country of usual residence

what is immigration

entering another country for a period of at least a year, so that country becomes the one of usual residence

what is emigration

leaving the country for a period of at least a year … etc.

what is net migration

the difference between immigration and emigration, and whether the population of a country has therefore gone up or gone down - expressed in (+) or (-)

what is natural population change

changes in population size due to no. of births or deaths

what is population projection

predictions of future changes in population size and composition based on past and present population changes

what is globalisation

the idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries

what processes is globalisation the result of (4)

• growth of communication systems + global media

• the creation of global markets

• the fall of communism in eastern europe

• the expansion of the EU

what do many people see globalisation as

producing rapid social changes → e.g. increased

what trends can be seen in global migration (5)

1. acceleration

2. differentiation

3. super-diversity

4. migrant identities

5. transnational identities

what is acceleration

the speeding up of the rate of migration → as of 2024, international migration reached 304 million (according to the UN)

what is differentiation

the increasing no. of differing migrants → permanent settlers, temporary settlers, students, spouses, refugees

what is globalisation increasing

the diversity of types of migrant → e.g. in the UK in 2024, students from india and china accounted for 50.4% of all sponsored study visas

what is super-diversity

Steven Vertovec (2007) → migrants now come from a much wider range of countries

what does robin cohen also argue about super diversity

migrants now come from a range of classes: citizens, denizens and helots

what are these 3 types of migrants

citizens → full citizenship rights

denizens → privileged foreign nations welcomed by the state (e.g. highly paid employees of multinational companies)

helots → the most exploited group, ‘disposable units of labour power’, may include illegally trafficked workers

what are migrant identities

migrants (and their descendants’) country of origin may provide an alternative source of identity → may develop hybrid identities made up of 2+ sources

what is a transnational identity

Thomas Hylland Eriksen → globalisation has created more diverse migration patterns with back and forth movements of people through networks rather than permanent settlement in another country - develop transnational ‘neither/nor’ identities and loyalties’

what problem has emerged due to globalisation

the politics of migration → states now have developed policies that seek to control immigration (which have also become linked to national security and anti-terrorism policies)

what is assimilationism

the first state policy approach to immigrant, aimed to encourage immigrants to adopt the language, values and customs of the host culture to make them ‘like us’

what problem does this face

migrants with hybrid identities may not be willing to abandon their culture

what is multiculturalism

the concept that accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate cultural identity → however, in practice, this may be limited to more superficial aspects of cultural diversity

what does eriksen distinguish this into

• ‘shallow diversity’ → regarding chicken tikka masala as britain’s national dish is acceptable

• ‘deep diversity’ → arranged marriages or the veiling of women is not acceptab

how has multiculturalism evolved over time

from the 1960s there was a move towards multiculturalism, but the ‘9/11’ terrorist attack in 2001 led back to politicians demanding that migrants assimilate culturally

what do assimilationist ideas also encourage

workers to blame migrants for social problems like unemployment → racial scapegoating

what do castles and kosack (1973) argue about this

it benefits capitalism by creating a racially divided working class

what was the largest migrant groups from 1900-1945

the irish (mainly for economic problems) → eastern and central european jews (escaping persecution) → people of british descent from US or Canada

what was the largest migrant groups in the 1950s

black immigrants from the carribean

what was the largest migrant groups from 1960s-1970s

south asian immigrants from india, pakistan, bangladesh and sri lanka

what is one result of this

a more ethnically diverse society → by 2021, ethnic minority groups accounted for 18% of the population → leads to greater diversity of family patterns

since 1900, where have many british people emigrated

the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

what are the main reasons for emigration

economic → ‘push’ factors (economic recession, unemployment) and ‘pull factors’ (higher wages, better opportunities)

what 3 things has migration impacted within the uk population’s structure

• population size

• age structure

• dependency ratio

what has happened to the population size

• net migration is high

• natural increase, with births (591,000) exceeding deaths (568,000)

• = population is inc

what has happened to the dependency ratio (4)

• immigrants are more likely to be of working age, helping to reduce the dependency ratio

• more likely to return to home country to retire

• however, as they are younger, have more children, and increases the ratio → over time, will grow and join the labour force, so the ratio will drop again

• the longer a group stays in the country, the closer their fertility rate will get to the national average, reducing their influence on the ratio

impact of globalisation on the family

• asian family life

• african caribbean family life

• dual heritage family life

• deborah chambers

• vanessa may

• barbara

what does deborah chambers identify

• mothers from less developed countries leave their families to search for work → LAT’s and technology help with this

• career orientated women rely on migrants to care for their family (leaving a care gap for the migrants family)

• an increase in internet dating and ‘mail-order’ brides as western men seek partners from poorer countries, who are younger

what does vanessa may identity (linked to deborah chambers)

• these trends lead to an incr

what do barbara ehrenrich and arlie hothschild observe

carework and sex work in western countries is typically completed by women from poor countries (resulting from several factors)

what factors contribute to this (4)

• western women less willing to perform domestic labour

• western men less willing to perform domestic labour

• expansion of service occupations and demand for female labour

• lack of adequate childcare from state

how many migrants are female today and what does this point towards

almost 50% are female now → globalisation of the gender division of labour

consequently, what does this reflect

gendered and racialised stereotypes

what does isabel shutes argue

40% of adult care nurses in the UK are migrants

who is richard berthoud

a sociologist who investigates asian and african caribbean families

what does he say about asian families (4)

• asian families feel strong sense of duty + obligation to assist families abroad

• relationships within families are very respectful, religious and dutiful (towards parents) → likely to agree to arranged marriages

• more tradition in asian families than white → marriage very important, divorce frowned upon

• majority of pakistani and bangladeshi families are nuclear, but 33% of asian families live in extended multigenerational families

what does he say about african caribbean families (2)

• only 39% of AC adults are married, compared to 60% of white adults

• higher proportion of one parent families, (chamberlain + gulbourne (1999) argue this is due to more mothers choosing to live independently (60% of 20 year old AC mothers) → Berthoud argues this is due to ‘modern individualism’

what are the 2 factors of modern individualism

• women more likely to

what did a study by victor et al find

older asian people feel younger asian children are not ‘as respectful as back home’ and are more geographically mobile → weakening links to family abroad as time passes

what did lucinda platt

in the last 14 years, how much has the no. of mixed heritage children risen by

overall, are mixed f

what unique problem do mixed families face

prejudice and discrimination from white + black communities

what is the trending theme in birth rates in the uk

trend = decreasing, with women having less children + waiting till later on to have children. consequences = increased happiness

what is the trending theme in death rates in the uk

trend = death rate increasing mostly (in the broader picture), however people are living for longer due to better healthcare. causes = pandemics (rapid spikes in death) consequence = ageing pop