demographics

demographics

• birthrates, deathrates, family sizes, ageing population, migration and globalsation

birth rates and family sizes

• there has been a long term decline since 1900 from 28.7 to 10.7 in 2007

• but 3 big baby booms from post war, 1960’s and between 2001-2002

• ons reports that the number of live births have decreased to 698,512 from 729,674 in 2012

• this contrasted with the increasing numbers of births that have been reported each year since the low of 2001

• in 2023 birthrate was the lowest since 1977

• the total fertilitly rate = the average number of children women will have during their fertile years

• fertilitly rate has undergone fluctations in 1960’s it reached 2.95 and lowest of 1.63 in 2001 and in 2023 it is 1.44

• has been a slight increase from 2001 because of an increase in migration as mothers outside of the uk have higer fertilitly rates in 2024 728,000 people arriving

reason for changes in birthrates and family size

• legal equalitly with men including the right to vote

• increased education opportunities

• more women in paid employment

• reliable contrapection

• now more women are remaning childless and postponing having children - meaning fewer fertile years

decline in infant mortality rate

• in 1900 imr ws 15% of babies and in 2007 it was 5

• improved housing and better sanitation from ineffectous dieases

• health enhanced by better nutrirtion knowledge of hygine and child welfare

• improved services for mothers and children

• 1950’s medicine began to play a greater role

• immunasation agaisnt childhood dieases e,g meales and whooping cough

• antibotics

• midwifery and obstetric technquies

• as fewer infants die, parents are less compelled to have more children although some reject suggesting that small families still exist in urban areas where infant mortailitly is high

children have become an economic liablilty

• until the 19th centruy children were economical assests as they worked and contruibted to income however now they have an extened period of dependence

• high expectations of living standards also means that parents limit family size

child-centeredness

• the social construction of childhood has encoruaged a shift towards thinking of family in terms of quality not quanity - fewer children, more attention and resources

sub and cross cultural issues in IMR

• in a low income country, the risk of a child dying before reaching the age of 5 is many times higher than in a high income country and is higher in rural and poorer households

• in iceland 2/1,000 and mozambique 120/1,000

• with most of infant deaths being focused in africa and asia

• death rate in 2020 uk - 9.41

• in 2024 568,613 deaths in uk

agening population

• non working old people are economically dependent group who need money through taxation of the working age group

• as the number of retired people rises so does the dependancy ratio (those in work:those retired)

• older people consume more health and social care services in 2013 42% of welfare went to the elderly

• fiancing longer period of old age → rase retierment age 68 to my generation

• and persauding older people to trade tow in terms of housing which relases wealth for a higher standard of living

• in an agening population is offest by the reduced number of depedent children and it cannot be assumed that all older people are dependent on these services as we cannot have negative steroytypes

• in non western socities the old have a high status

• grey pound → it the perchasing power and economic infulecne of older people