Demographic changes

Demography

The study of populations and changes

Where does the information about the population come from?

The government and the ONS- they gather information from the national census which takes place every 10 years.

What determines birth rate?

Proportion of women are able to have children (proportion of women of child bearing 15-44) and how fertile they are.

TFR

The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime. It is estimated that the TFR in 1900 was 3.5 and reached a record low of 1.63 in 2001 while in 2012 it was 1.94.

What do changes in fertility show?

Changes in fertility show that women are remaining childless that in the past and women are postponing having children (average age is 30). Older women may have fewer fertile years remaining and dos produce fewer children.

Decline in the infant mortality rate

From 1830 onwards the death rate in the IL decreased and life expectancy increased.

Infant mortality declined.

Fall in IMR leads to a fall in birth rate because of many infants die, parents have more children to replace those they have lost-increasing birth rate, or infants survive parents will have fewer of them.

Infant mortality

Number of babies dying in their first year per 1000 live babies.

During the early 20th century, UK IMR began to fall but why?

More doctors are well educated.

The improvement of medicine

New technology introduced

Getting vaccine when you are born which means better Health care.

Economic factors

This is because children are no longer sent out to work from an early age to earn income.

Laws banning child labour, compulsory schooling and raising the school leaving age mean children remain economically dependent on their parents for longer.

Women’s opportunities

Legal equality with men- right to vote

Increased educational opportunities

More women in payed employment

Easier access to divorce

Changing social attitudes

Large families were seen as desirably until 1870s onwards- first middle class and later working class families saw smaller families as a way of improving living standards.

By the mid 20th century, small families of up to 3 children became a norm.

Individualisation thesis

Beck and beck Gernsheim (1995)- individuals increasingly seek a life of their own in which they can construct their own lifestyle and relationships up a and are no longer ties to traditional social norms that might dictate a particular stage in life a person should get married and start a family.

Contraception and abortion

The decline in birth rate in the late 19th century they was due to more couples abstaining from sex that the use of contraception was disapproved of.

However, in the 20th century, contraception become more socially accepted and the introduction of the birth control pill and other methods meant that couples can plan when they want children.

Fluctuations in birth rates

Births fell during both world wars and there were baby booms after the wars.

There is usually a baby boom about 25 years after the previous baby boom as there are more young people of child bearing age in the population.

Baby boom

Baby booms coincide with periods of economic prosperity coincided with rising wages and full employment.

Why has the number of births climbing since 2001?

Children of the previous baby boom in the late 1980s are starting families.

Immigration levels have risen in recent years, immigrants tend to be younger than UK population as a whole and therefore more fertile, plus larger families are more common among certain immigrant groups.

What evidence was there to show that havibg a child outside of marriage seemed shameful in the mid 20th century?

In 1971, only 8% of children were born outside of marriage.

This has risen, reflecting the rise in mine parenthood and cohabiting couples having children.

In 2012, 47.5% of babies were born outside marriage/ civil partnership.

Why are women having children later in life?

individualisation- more freedom of choice

Beaujouan (2012)- a study suggests rising levels of educational attainments among women.

Ageing population

The average age of the population in the UK is increasing.

What are the causes of an ageing population?

Low birth rates/ fewer people being born in younger generations than previous generations, reducing the size of the youthful population.

Increased life expectancy- in the 50s, life expectancy at birth in the UK was 66.1 years for Ken and 70.9 for women.

What is the problem of an increase age dependency?

The proportion of dependents per 100 of the working age population has increase from 51% to 54% between 1994 and 2013.

Criticisms of this- some older people still work over the age of 64. Helping the community as well.

What are the positive prospects of an ageing population?

Most remain healthy until the ends of their lives and more people work past retirement age.

Increase public spending

Older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care than other age groups

Loneliness and isolation for older people

Loneliness can have long term effects on health

However in Christina victors (2003) research, she found the percentage of older

People reporting they were lonely was only 7%.

voluntary sector

Every year each volunteer spends over 100 hours volunteering, which is worth £10 billion to the UK economy.

Retired people contribute unpaid work- volunteering for charities or organising community events.

Older people as consumers

The spending power of older people has increased while that if younger people has declined.

Kingsman (2012) found spending in travel, theatre and cinema has increased among the over 50s and decreased amount the under 30s. Older people spend more on eating out than young people.