demography

define demography

the study of human populations and how they change- their size, composition and distribution

what are the ‘big three’ of demography

birth rate, death rate and migration

what is the general trend in the uk population in the past century

it has increased at a decreasing rate

3 main reasons birth and fertility has declined

• change in women’s roles (genderquake)

• access to contraception

• post industrial society has lead to consumerism and materialism

Up to the 1950s what was the main reason for population growth, and how has this changed

1950- natural change (births and deaths)
1980s onwards- factors such as im/emigration have grown more popular

what’s the difference between birth and fertility rate

birth- number of live births per 1000 of each year

fertility- number of live births per 1000 women aged 15-44 per year

Describe the general death trend in the uk

the number of births exceed the number of deaths

death rate has decreased

4 main explanations for fall of death rate and raise of life expectancy

• rising wages and living standards

• 19th c public health policy

• introduction of welfare state

• intro of nhs 1948

explanation for aging population

initially people were born into bigger families and now those aged 60+ live for longer than they initially would

Hirsch argues...

UK age structure no longer resembles a traditional pyramid but more like a pillar due to an ageing population

He raises concerns about how an ageing population can be financially supported, particularly as the “baby boomer” generation

To manage this, people may need to work longer or pay higher taxes and pension contributions.

Townsend argues…

‘old age’ is a social construction that’s been developed a through state where old people have to stop working and depend on pensions (retirement age)

Chambers argues…

the elderly are often stereotyped as unproductive, infirm and dependant when in reality that not the case

3 consequences of aging population

increases dependency ratio

British Nationality act

what was the rwanda policy

why will the increase in immigration in the uk have an effect on the natural growth

due to the decline in birth/fertility rate and aging pop, migration is central to population growth in the uk

immigrants are more likely to be of childbearing age and tend to have higher fertility rates compared to the host population

ONS estimations on migration in the uk

• 2013- the uk pop will increase by 9.6 million in the 25 years (57% will be natural, more births than deaths)

• 43% result of migration but 29% of natural increase will be because of immigration

in 2011,the uk pop was approx 86% of whites. what was the remaining 14%

South Asian - 6.8%

Black (afro carab, afr) - 3.4%

Chinese - 0.7%

Arab - 0.4%

Others - 0.6%

Factors influencing immigration

• legislation and border laws

• globalisation

• push/pull factors

Explain why legislation and border laws influence migration

• legal migration is affected by laws that govern the rights of people to move to other countries

• illegal migration is affected by the attempts of governments to control access to their territory

• eg. uk has limited immigration from the caribbean and the asian subcontinent through the commonwealth immigration act 1962 & 1968

Explain why globalisation influences migration

• globalisation involves a process by which a national boundaries because less significant and interconnection between between different parts of the globe become more important

• with development of mass communication (media and internet), awareness and understanding of different countries and cultures has increased

• rapid, safe and cheaper transportation

Explain why push factors influences migration

fleeing prosecution, torture, religious repression, war, poverty etc

Explain why pull factors influences migration

• mainly economic factors make the uk attractive to would-be migrants

• job opportunities which are more numerous compared to their society

• education

• join family or friends

Discuss (south) asian family life in the uk

Berthoud found:

most asian families are nuclear and (33%) multigenerational

Victor et al confirmed-

110 asian respondents (90% of people in their study) say they live in a multigenerational household

Very traditional- (marriage is highly valued, little cohabitation and divorce)

Discuss african caribbean family life in the uk

• Berthoud found:

only 39% of british born afro caribs under 60 are in a formal marriage, compared to 60% of white adults

higher proportion of lone parent families

• Chamberlain and Golborne argued this was due to the fact that AC mothers chose to live independently from the father because they are supported by an extended kinship network (aunts and uncles)

• Berthoud suggest this attitude was a product of ‘modern individualism’ and are choosing this because they are more likely to be employed than the fathers (views as a financial burden)

discuss research on dual-heritage/ mixed race families

Platt indicates:

AC are more likely than any other ethnic minority group to intermarry with members of other ethnic groups, especially white people. (Ali notes that this likely will result in inter-ethnic family and dual heritage children)

Over past 14 years these dual-heritage children has risen from 39% to 49%

In contrast:

35% of chinese

11% of indian

4% of pakistani

are in mixed race marriages

sociologists argue these types of families may experience prejudice and discrimination from the white and black communication