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

Finch and Mason, O’Brien and Jones et al. andFoster

• the elderly have regular contact with extended kin, meaning that isolation is less of an issuse within the health of elderly people

• could be a reason as to why people are living longer

Brannen (2003)

• increase number in beanpole families where there are often 4 generations 

• there are more ties within the generation because of increased life expectancy and health. the grandparent generation is able to look after their own grandchildren 

• but also their own parents - 20% of people in their 50s and 60’s look after their parents, this is also tied to the fact that people are delyaing having children 

stats on the ageing population

• 1971 = 34.1 years 2022 = 40 (average uk age)

• it is driven by 3 factors

• life expectancy increase

• declining infant mortalitly rate

• declining fertilitly rate

consquence - the dependency ratio

• growing elderly population increases the number of people economically dependent on the state 

• 2023 2.8 workers for each pensioner 

• leads to increasing retirment age 

consquence - public services 

• older people taking greater use of the health and social care services avaliable to them, increasing the demand for spending on the elderly 

consqeunce - one person pensioner households

• growth of the elderly living alone

• 2013 1/8 households (mainly women)

• chambers (2013) feminism of later life 

consquence postive ageging

• Blaikie (1999) ageying is viewed as dependecy, older people are healthy, indepedent and active

• for example there economic power through the grey pound

consquences policy implications

• hissch (2005) ageging population because of policy changes such as adaptable living, state pensions ectra

modernist vs post modernist

M → old age is a decline and dependecy, powerlessness there is ageism

P → blurring of the life stages means the elderly can be active consumers challanging ageist sterotypes

inequailitly

• plicther (1995) social class and gender inequailites

• class - working class have smaller pensions and 3x more likely to die under 65

• gender - women work less and earn less so they get a smaller pension

death rate stats 

• 1900 - 19/1000 2019 9/1000

• decline has caused an ageging population within the uk

• life expectancey increase - from 1900 50(m) 57(f) 2023 78(m) 82(f)

reason - gender class + ethnicty

• wc men 3x more likely to die before the age of 65 

• north has a higher death rate than the south 

reason - improve living standards + nutrition

• mckeowen (1976) nutritional issues accounted for ½ of deaths between 1850-1970

• wages increases mean lift out of poverty - also increase in government help e.g benefits

reason medical improvements

• 1950’s + medical changes occuring

• establishment of the NHS and free healthcare 

• better healthcare - antibiotics, maternity care ect 

reason - public health

• 20th c gov inatives has led to an improved envrionment

• e.g better nursing, sanction, water ect 

reason - improved lifestyle 

• greater public awareness about healthy lifestyles 

• e.g 40% less smoking than in the 1970’s 

• help from the welfare state to vunriable groups 

migration stats

• from the 1980’s onwards there has been a sharp increase in net migration 

• 2014 - 260,000

• 2011 - 14% of uk population was an ethinic minorty compared to just 6% in 1901 

• push and pull factors 

cause - globalsation 

• has made migration cheaper, easiser

• within the rise of global markets and open borders

implication - population size

• age profile - 60% of the work population growth between 2004 and 2022 

• more fertile women - 2.03 children which helps to reduce the dependencey ratio 

cultural diversity

• berthoud (2000) afro carribean families are more likely to the lone parent

• gilroy (2003) afro carribean families more likely to be matriachral

• berthoud (2000) asian families have a strong family ties with low divorce rates 

dual hertiage idenities

• ‘hybird indenties’ 

• platt (2009) afro-carrabiean more likely to intermarry 

• eadie (1994) british asians developed layered hybird idenities - religion, heritage, home