Births

Question 1

What is the total fertility rate ?

Answer 1

The UK’s TFR has risen in recent years but t is still much lower than the past. More women are remaining childless nowadays. Women are postponing having children.

Question 2

What are the reasons for the declining birth rate ?

Answer 2

Changes in women’s position - legal equality to men , increased educational opportunities , more women in paid employment , easier access to divorce and changing views towards families
Decline in infant mortality rate - Harper said that because parents had so many children they had to replace them when they died
Children as an economic liability - laws banning children from child labour
Child centredness - childhood is now socially constructed and uniquely important period of life , parents now focus on quality over quantity

Question 3

What is the impact of the declining birth rate ?

Answer 3

The dependency ratio increases - the relationship between the size of the working population and the non-working population. The dependency ratio measures the % of dependent people / number of people who are of working age
The working population supports the working population through taxes

Question 4

What is death rates ?

Answer 4

The number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year.

Question 5

What are the reasons for the declining death rate ?

Answer 5

Improve nutrition - McKeown states better nutrition increased the resistance to infection and the likelihood of survival when faced with infection
Medical improvements - better medical knowledge , techniques and organisation -
Public health improvements - smoking and diets have become more known for being bad for health
Social changes - the decline of manual occupations such as mining and etc. greater public knowledge of the causes of illness - lifestyle changes and higher incomes