demography- births and fertility rate Flashcards
Demography
the study of populations and their characteristics.
The main factors that affect the size of the population are
Births
Deaths
Age structure
Immigration & Emigration
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
the average number of children women will have during their fertile years.
TRENDS IN THE TOTAL FERTILITY RATE
Despite the increase in the UK’s TFR since 2001 it is still much lower than in the past.
In 2001 the TFR was at 1.63 children per woman, by 2014 that figure had rose to 1.83. However, this figure is still much lower than the figure reached in 1964 of 2.95 children per woman
Changes in both the fertility and birth rates reflect the fact that:
More women are choosing to postpone having children. The average age a woman chooses to have children is 29.6. Coupled with this women in their 30’s and 40’s are having more children. Older women are less fertile and so produce less children.
Women are more than ever deciding not to have children
REASONS FOR DECLINE IN THE BIRTH RATE:
attitudes
employment
educational
legal
medical
According to Harper (2012)
the education of women is the most important reason for the long term fall in birth and fertility rates
Infant mortality rate
The number of deaths of babies in the first year of life per 1000 of the population per year’.
there is a decline for infant mortality rate for these reasons:
improved housing and sanitation
better nutrition
greater knowledge of hygiene, health & welfare
improved services for mothers
mass immunisation
Decline in the birth rate: Changing Position of Women
opportunities within education
legal equality with men
changes in attitudes towards gender roles
more women in employment
Decline in the Birth Rate: Children have become an Economic Liability
Until the late 19th century children were seen as an economic asset. However, with the introduction of laws and the changing norms about what people expect from their children in terms of the cost of bringing up children has risen
Decline in the Birth Rate: Child centeredness
There is now a greater emphasis on quality and not quantity. Parents have fewer children, lavishing them with both more attention and material rewards.
Decline in the Birth Rate: Geographically Mobile
There’s a need to be Geographically Mobile & Work-Centred in the industrial world
– smaller families are more mobile.
Decline in the Birth Rate: Improved Contraception & Birth Control Methods
There are cheaper & more effective methods of contraception available in today’s society. This, coupled with the 1967 Abortion Reform Act means that family planning is easier.
