Demography Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is a birth rate?
Birth rates are number of live births that occur each year per 1000 of the population
What is a fertility rate?
Fertility rate is the average number of children woman will have during her lifetime
What is infant mortality rate?
Infant mortality rate is the number of children who die in first year of their lives per 1000 births
Statistics
-657,076 live births in England and Wales in 2018, decrease in 3.2% since 2017
-Infant mortality rate in UK was less than 4 per 1000 in 2018, (although there is regional variations)
-Total fertility rate decreased from 1.76 to 1.70 children per woman in 2018, which is lower than previous years
Trends
-UK birth rate has declined from 20.5 per 1000 in 1947 to 11.1 in 2018
-Fertility rate has dropped from peak of 2.93 in 1964 to 1.70 in 2018
-Infant mortality rate has fallen significantly overtime from 9.4 to 3.9 per thousand from 1985 to 2018
-Lowest ever recorded still births in 2018 at 4.1 per 1000 live births
Why has this been happening?
-Economic position of women
-Cost of children
-Contraception
-Reduction in infant mortality
Economic position of women:
-Research shows a negative correlation between female employment and birth and fertility rates as employment of women increases, birth and fertility rates fall
-Evidenced through increases in female employment throughout later part of 20th century and reduction in birth and fertility rates
-Women are delaying having children until later in life which reduces number of children they have
Cost of children:
-Estimated that cost of raising a child in 21st century varies from £150,000-£180,00
-In previous generations, children were seen as a form as economic insurance for adults in later years, although now increased affluence of elderly in comparison to young
-Buchanan and Rotkirch (2013) found cost was a factor for woman surveyed in deciding to have children
Contraception:
-Availability and effectiveness of contraception in recent years has enabled women to have greater control over reproductive rights
-Legalisation of abortion in 1969 has helped to control amount of unwanted pregnancies
-Greater awareness of STIs has led to greater usage of contraception in relationships from late 20th century onwards
Infant mortality:
-Advances in neonatal medicine have dramatically reduced the number of children dying in first year of lives
-Women are having fewer children as they are more certain that their children will live into adulthood
-These advances also make it more likely women will delay having children as it was previously rhiught rheee was more danger in having children over the age of 30
Impacts of reduced birth and fertility rates:
-Fewer children in society, creates an aging population
-Fewer children to replace workforce, lead to an imbalance in dependency ratio
-UK’s declining birth rates, with declining death rate has led to an aging population
What is a death rate?
Death rate is the rate is the rate of death per 1000 of population
What is life expectancy?
Average length of time that somebody born in that year is expected to live
Figures are often represented by geographical areas and can be linked to level of deprivation in an area and can be linked to level of deprivation in an area
Death rates over time:
-UK deaths totalled 5308419 in 2019, a death rate of 8.8
-Male death rate was 9.0, female 8.8, big difference for first time since mid 1980s
-Lowest death rate since 2014, but steady decline since 1977 when leaked at 12.1 per 1000
Life expectancy overtime:
-ONS reported expected life for males at 80.3 years and females at 83.8 years in 2019
-Projected to reach 85.3 for males and 87.9 for females by 2050
-Life expectancy for newborn boys highest in Kensington and Chelsea (83.3 years) and lowest in Blackpool (74.7 years)
-For baby girls, highest in Chiltern (86.7 years) and lowest in Middlesbrough (79.8 years)
Why is this?
-Advances in medicine
-Changes in lifestyle
-Changes to employment
-Higher living standards
Advances in medicine:
-Creation of NHS and welfare state as it saves lives and raises awareness
-Research and development into medicines as it helps life threatening illness and discovers heath issues in time to be treated
-Greater use of technology and medial assessments eg MRI scans and keyhole surgery as they detect illness while manageable, less invasive
Changes to lifestyle:
-Healthier diets due to availability of products from around the world
-More active lifestyles, growth of gym and personal fitness industry
-Greater awareness of illness and disease and taking preventative action
-Greater awareness around wellbeing and promotion of work life balance
Changes to employment:
-Decline of tradition male jobs that increased wear and tear on men’s bodies
-Health and safety/legislation and employee health programmes
-Flexible working and career progression
-State bodies created to investigate conditions at work eg Health and Safety executive
Higher standards of living:
-£2500 per annum spent by each UK household on health, fitness and diet
-More leisure time and more time spent with family
-Better housing- central heating, double glazing, less damp
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