demography

Question 1

birth rate

Answer 1

the number of live births per 1000 of the population per year

Question 2

give the 2 main factors that determine birth rates

Answer 2

• number of women who are of a childbearing age (usually 15-44 yrs), average age to give birth is now 30
• how fertile they are (how many children they have)

Question 3

total fertility rate (TFR)

Answer 3

the average number of children women will have during these fertile years (2.95 children in 1964 -> 1.83 in 2014)

Question 4

briefly explain the 6 changes in women’s position during the 20th century as a cause for the decline in birth rate

Answer 4

• legal quality with men (against sex discimination & right to vote)
• increased educational opportunities
• more women in paid employment
• changes in attitudes to family life and womens role
• easier access to divorce (divorce reform act 1969)
• access to abortion and reliable contraception

Question 5

briefly explain which reason Harper (2012) thinks is the most impactful on birth rate and total fertility rate

Answer 5

education of women.
Because women now see other possibilities other than their traditional expressive role so many women now are choosing to delay childbearing or remain childless rto pursue a career.

Question 6

infant mortality rate (IMR)

Answer 6

the nummber of infants who die before their 1st birthday, per 1000 babies born alive per year

Question 7

briefly explain Harper (2012) ideas linking the correlation between the IMR and birth rate

Answer 7

argues that a fall in the IMR leads to a fall in birth rate as if parents lose their infant then they have more children to replace which increases birth rate, whereas if infant survive they have fewer children.

Question 8

briefly explain the 4 changes in the UK that made the UK’s IMR decrease during the 1st half of 20th century and the 2 changes in the second half of the 20th century, as a cause for the decline in birth rate

Answer 8

1st 1/2 of 20th century:
- improved housing and better sanitation
- better nutrition of mum and baby
- better knowledge of hygiene, child health and welfare
- improved services for mothe and baby (e.g. antenatal clinics)

2nd 1/2 of 20th century:
medical factors:
- mass immunissation against childhood diseases
- use of antibiotics to fight infection

Question 9

briefly explain the 2 changes that have made children economically liable on parents during the 20th century as a cause for the decline in birth rate

Answer 9

• laws banning child labour & compulsory schopol, making them dependent on parents for longer
• changing norms of what children have a right to expect from their parents in material terms = cost of raising a child has increased

Question 10

briefly explain how child centredness during the 20th century is a cause of the decline in birth rate

Answer 10

increasing child centredness in the family and society on a whole has encouraged shift from quantity to quality = parents now have fewer children and spend more attention and resources on these few

Question 11

dependency ratio

Answer 11

the relationship between the size of the working population vs size of non-working (dependent) population.
the earnings of working population must support dependent population

Question 12

briefly explain the** effects** of changes in the birth rate and TFR on many aspects in society: family, dependency ration, vanishing children, public services and policies, an ageing population

Answer 12

family
- smaller families = women free to work = dual earner couples
- better off couples may still have larger families as can afford childcare = borth work full time
dependency ratio
- children make up large part of the dependent population, so fall in number of children reduces burden of dependency on working population
- long term: fewer children = smaller working population in future = increase in burden of dependency
vanishing children
- decrease in fertility rate = increase in loneliness of children with no siblings and fewer voices to promote interests of children when adults remain childless
public services and policies
- lower birth rate = fewer schools and maternity/paternity leave pay and child health services needed
- government more likely to reduce class sizes than the number of schools
an ageing population
- lower birth rate = changes to average age of population, more old than younger people

Question 13

death rate

Answer 13

the number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year

Question 14

briefly explain Tranter (1996) ideas of why there has been a decline in the death rate in middle of 19th to the middle of 20th century

Answer 14

a result of the decline in the number of deaths from infectious disease (e.g. measles and TB)

From 1950’s he said there was diseases of affluence (wealth) such as heart disease and cancer (caused by inactivity and smoking) that replaced infectious diseases as main cause of death.

Question 15

briefly explain the 5 reasons for the decline in death rate

Answer 15

• improved nutrition: McKeown argues it reduced deaths from TB and it helped increase resistance to infection and survival of those who became infected. However ignores why females live longer than males, even though they recieve smaller share of family food supply.
• medical improvements: since 1950’s it has caused advances in antibitoics, mass immunisation, blood transfusion, set up NHS in 1948
• smoking and diet: Harper argues that in 21st century, obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic. Harper concluded that we’re moving towards an American health culture where lifestyles are unhealthy and long lifespan is achieved by costly medication.
• public health measures: In 20th century governments passed laws that improved public health and environment quality. E.g. Clean Air Act 1963, NHS health campaigns, milk tokens for kids.
• other social changes: decline of dangerous manual ocupations, smaller families reduces transmission of infection, greater public knowledge of causes of illness, lifestyle changes, higher incomes to afford private healthcare and gym memberships

Question 16

life expectancy

Answer 16

how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live.

Question 17

give 2 stats from 1900 and 2024 showing as death rates decrease, life expectancy increases

Answer 17

Men born in 1900 had a life expectancy of 50 whereas women had 57yrs.
Men born in 2024 have a life expectancy of 82 and women have 92.6yrs.

Question 18

give 4 reasons why women generally live longer than men, although the gap has narrowd due to changes in employment and lifestyle

Answer 18

• men are biologically more likely to develop cardiovascular problems due to fat lying around organs
• mental health and suicide: men have a suicide rate of 15.3 per 100,000 people a year and women have 4.9 per 100,000.
• men are more likely to avoid doctors and ignore any health concerns
• men are more likely to carry out risky behaviours

Question 19

give 2 regional differnces that affect life expectancy

Answer 19

• those living in North of England and Scotland have lower life expectancy than those in South England, due to higher drinking and smoking frequency causing heart and lung dieases.
• those living in poorer areas of ENgland die on average 7yrs earlier than those in richer areas.

Question 20

briefly explain one class difference affecting life expectancy

Answer 20

w/c men in manual jobs nearly 3x more likely to die before 65 compared to those in proffesional jobs.

Question 21

ageing population

Answer 21

the increasing mean age in the population

Question 22

what is happening to the average age of the UK and what was it in 2022?

Answer 22

average age of UK population is rising, fewer young people and more old people.
average age 2022: 40.7yrs

Question 23

what are the 3 reasons for ageing population?

Answer 23

• increasing life expectancy
• declining infant mortality
• declining fertility (fewer young people being born)

Question 24

what is the effect on public services from an ageing population?

Answer 24

older people consume a larger proportion of services, increased expenditure on healthcare.
Changes to policies and provision of housing, transport and other services

Question 25

what is the effect on one person pensioner households from an ageing population?

Answer 25

number of pensioners living alone has increased, now account for about 12.5% of all households.
Most one person pensioner houses are female because women generally live longer than men, known as “feminisation of later life”

Question 26

what is the effect on the dependency ratio from an ageing population?

Answer 26

as the number of retired people rises, the dependency ratio increases and burden on the working population increases.
However the increase in number of old people raising the ratio is offset by the declining number of dependent children.
In UK 2023 the ratio od dependants (those under 15 or 64+) was 58%

Question 27

dependency ratio

Answer 27

the percentage of people in a population who are in dependent age groups compared to those in the economically productive age group

Question 28

what is the effect on ageism and modernity from an ageing population?

Answer 28

growth in ageism in modern society (e.g. job discrimination, unequal healthcare treatment).
The structure dependency of the old on the working population- they’re excluded from paid work leaving them dependent on their families & state.
Our identity in modern society is shaped by having a job, so marxists such as Phillipson argue the old are no use to capitalism as they’re no longer economically productive. Therefore the state is unwilling to support them adequately so females of the family end up taking responsibility for their care.

Question 29

ageism

Answer 29

the negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people because of their age

Question 30

briefly explain postmodernity and old age

Answer 30

in postmodern society sociologists argue the fixed orderly stages of the life course have been broken down (later marriage).This blurs the boundaries between the life stages giving individuals greater choice of lifestyle whatever their age.

unlike in modern society, consumption not production becomes key to our identities. Hunt (2005) argues that this means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of our age as the elderly become a market for a vast range of products/services.

Question 31

what are the 2 features of postmodern society that undermine old age as stigmatised life stages?

Answer 31

• the centrality of the media: media potrays positive aspects of lifestyles of the elderly
• the emphasis on surface features: the body becomes a surface on which we can write our identites (e.g. anti-ageing cream)

Question 32

briefly explain Pilcher’s ideas of inequality among the old

Answer 32

argues that inequalities such as class and gender remain important.
Class: m/c have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries. Poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy amd suffer more mental and physcial weakness.
gender: women earn less than men, therefore lower pensions. Also subject to sexist and ageong stereotyping (“old hags”)

Question 33

what did Hirch argue needs to happen to help with issues of an agening population? (give examples)

Answer 33

argues a range of new social policies need to change.
Includes financing the longer period of old age (e.g. through raising taxes), housing policies encourage old to trade down into smaller accomoation that would free up housing gor younger people.

Question 34

immigration

Answer 34

the movement of people into a country

Question 35

emigration

Answer 35

the movement of people out of a country

Question 36

net migration
and how is it expressed in word form?

Answer 36

the difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants.
expressed as: net increase or net decrease

Question 37

what was the trend in 2020 for migration and why did this occur?

Answer 37

covid meant that boarders shut so emigration and immigration both decreased.

Question 38

give the reasons for the trend of increased immigration in UK for each period below:
1. 1900-1945
2. 1950s
3. 1900s-1970s
4. 1990s-2000s
5. 2011
6. 2024

Answer 38

1. largest immigrant group was Irish
2. Black Caribbean immigrants began to arrive
3. South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) immigrants arrived
4. white countries of EU arrived
5. ethnic minority groups made up 14% of UK population
6. 1.6mil visas granted (work, education), 97000 people claimed asylum in UK, 38000 arrived in UK via irregular routes

Question 39

give the trend of emigration from mid-16th century to the 1980s

Answer 39

UK was almost always a net exporter of people, since 1900 many british emigrants have gone to settle in the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa

Question 40

give the trend of emigration in 2024

Answer 40

1.2 mil people of June 2024 emigrated out of UK

Question 41

what are the 2 factors for emigration that are economic?

Answer 41

push factors: push people out of a country (e.g. unemployment or a recession)
pull factors: pull people into a country (e.g. higher wages or better opportunities)

Question 42

what are the impacts on UK population structure due to an increase in immigration and emigration?

Answer 42

population size: Increasing as a result of immigration and births eceeding deaths.
age structure: immigration lowers the average age of the population, because immigrants are usuall younger so they’re more fertile/have more children.
dependency ratio: immigrants are of a working age which lowers the DR, however they have more children that increases the DR.

Question 43

globalisation

Answer 43

barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasignly ‘interconnected’ across national boundaries.
It brings an increase in international migration.

Question 44

briefly explain the 6 trends in global migration

Answer 44

• **acceleration **of the rate of migration
• differentiation: Cohen argues theres 3 different types of migrants, citizens, denizens (privileged foreign nationals) and helots (exploited group). Vertoc argued there is super diversity.
• the feminisation of migration: half of all global migrants are female, but there is commercialised migration of women and girls as domestic workers and caregivers, often resulting in the trafficking of women for labour and sexual exploitation from western countries.
• migrant identities: many migrants develop hybrid identities, due to their generational differences in views.
• transnational identities (Eriksen): with globalisation, migrational patterns are more diverse and many migrants move back and forth so develop these identies. Also modern tech enables them to sustain global ties without having to travel.
  * the politicisation of migration: policies of assimilation aim to encourage immigrants to adopt the language and culture of host country to make them more like us (inequality). On the other hand, multiculturalism accepts that migrants may wish to keep a separate culture.

Question 45

super diveristy
-Vertoc

Answer 45

migrants come from a very wide range of countries, even within ethnic group there’s differences in language and religion.

Question 46

why was net migration unusually high in 2023?

Answer 46

685000 due to an increase in non-EU citizens coming into the UK (acceleration of migration)