Demography Flashcards
Demography
-Study of the size and growth of the human population by looking at statistical data such as birth rates + death rates.
-Identifying trends involving how the population has changed over the years.
Birth rate
-The number of live births per every 1000 of the population per year.
Fertility rate
-Average number of children a woman will have during child bearing age 15-44
Infant mortality rate
-Number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1000 live births.
Why are women having fewer children?
-Birth control is more accessible—> in 1974 contraceptives became free on the NHS to all women.
-Cost of living crisis, may not be able to afford it: until the late 19th century laws banning child labour + education made compulsory made children an economic liability.
-Legalisation of abortion free on NHS in 1967.
-Child-centred families, so families are having less kids to focus on giving them a better quality of life.
-Fall in infant mortality rate due to improvement in healthcare.
How does a declining birth rate impact society?
-The family- smaller families mean that more women can go to work, creating dual earner families
-The dependency ratio- relationship between the size of the working population + non-working dependent population. A fall in the number of children = reduces burden of dependency.
-Public services and policies- fewer schools + child health services needed.
Reasons for decline in death rates.
-Free personal healthcare- 1948
-Improvement in welfare state- living standards improved considerably for people as they had better damp-free housing.
-Improvement in healthcare: improved medicine, improved healthcare awareness + education.
-Public environmental health improvements: better water quality, improved sewage.
Why is the UK population ageing?
-People are living longer, decline n birth rates.
-There are fewer children and young people in the population and more older people which has led to an increase in the average age of the UK population.
The effects of an ageing population
-Family size- rise in one-person households: women are more likely to outlive men + tend to marry older men—> lead to emotional + psychological disorders.
-Rise in dependency ratio.
-Policy implication for state pension age
Migration
Population movement.
Emigration
People leaving the country to live in another one.
Immigration
People coming to live in the country from another one.
Net migration
The number of people immigrating minus the number of people emigrating.
-Between 1931-1961 it showed more people coming into the UK than leaving. This is due to economic reasons to escape political or religious persecution (European Jews).
Why was it common during this period?
Post-war immigration (1950s onwards) mainly came from New Commonwealth countries.
Reasons for population increase
-Before 1999- the increase in population was due to natural increase/change e.g increasing birth rate.
-Since then net migration has been the main reason for the increase in the UK’s population growth.
