Birth rate/death rate - Demography

Question 1

What is the total fertility rate?

Answer 1

1.83 in 2014 compared to 2.95 children in 1964s

Question 2

What’s the reason for the change in fertility and birth rates?

Answer 2

• More women remaining childless
• More women postponing having children - avg age is 30

Question 3

What are 4 reasons for the decline in the birth rate?

Answer 3

1. Changes in womens position
2. Decline in infant mortality rate
3. CHildren now economic liability
4. Child centerdness

Question 4

Why are changes in womens position one of the reasons for the decline in the birth rate?

Answer 4

• More women in paid employment, easy access to divorce, easy access to contraception/abortion

Question 5

What does Harper (2012) see as the reason for the decline?

Answer 5

Education of women. Change in mindset > fewer children. Now see possibilities outside traditional housewife/mother > delay children
- small families become norm > seen a less deviant/acceptable

Question 6

What is the infant mortality rate?

Answer 6

• In Uk - 154 compared to 117 in 2024 in Afghanistan.

Question 7

What happens as a result of child centeredness of families?

Answer 7

• Shift from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’ parents now have fewer children & more attention

Question 8

Why have there been an increase in birth rates since 2001?

Answer 8

1. Increase in immigration. Mothers outside the UK have higher fertility rate - account for 25% of births in 2011.

Question 9

What are 3 effects of changes in fertility?

Answer 9

1. The family
2. Dependency ratio
3. Public services and policies

Question 10

How does the family affect fertility?

Answer 10

-Smaller families > women more free to go to work > create dual-earning couple.
- better off couples able to have larger families and still afford childcare so can work full time

Question 11

How does the dependency ratio affect fertility?

Answer 11

• Fall in number of children reduces the ‘burden of dependancy’ of working population.

Question 12

What does Vanishing children mean

Answer 12

falling fertility rates > fewer children > childhood lonely > childless adults

Question 13

Why do lower birth rates have consequences for public services?

Answer 13

Fewer schools and maternity and child health services may be needed. Affects cost of maternity/paternity leave.

Question 14

What is one effect of women having fewer children?

Answer 14

Ageing population. More old compared to young.

Question 15

Tranter – death rate

Answer 15

Death rate has declined so heavily in 19th/20th century due to fall in deaths from infectious diseases
→ Particularly TB
→ HOWEVER these have been replaced by diseases of affluence
- Heart disease, cancer
- Affect the old, rather than the young

Question 16

Reasons for decline in death from infection

Answer 16

→ Improved nutrition
→ Medical advancements
→ Reduction in smoking?
→ Public health measure
→ Other social changes

Question 17

McKeown – DR/nutrition

Answer 17

Nutritional accounts for half the reduction in deaths from infectious disease
→ Increased resistance for those infected
→ But, how come women live longer even though they tend to get smaller shares of the food supply?

Question 18

Medical advancements – DR

Answer 18

→ Antibiotics/immunisation
→ NHS gives care to people
→ Bypass surgeries + medication for heart disease

Question 19

Reduction in smoking – DR

Answer 19

→ May be counteracted by rise in obesity
- Deaths from this kept low due to medication
- Rise of American health culture where lifestyles are unhealthy, but long lifespan is achieved via medication

Question 20

Harper – DR/smoking

Answer 20

Greatest fall in death comes from reduction in smoking

Question 21

Public health measures – DR

Answer 21

Help to improve quality of the environment
→ Clean Air Act
→ Improved housing quality
→ Pasteurised milk

Question 22

Other social changes – DR

Answer 22

→ Decline of dangerous manual occupations e.g. mining
→ Smaller families reduce transmission rates
→ Greater public knowledge of causes of infection
→ Lifestyle changes; reduction in smoking
→ Higher incomes; healthier, higher qual. lifestyle