F&H: Demography Flashcards
Define demography
The study of population, and changes to population size.
What is net migration? (What calculation?)
Immigration - emigration
Compare the UK population sizes: 1901 vs now
1901: 37 million
Now: 67 million
What is meant by ‘natural change’ in demography?
Births minus - deaths
In more recent years, what has been the main cause of population growth in the UK?
Net migration
Identify the 3 ways to measure the amount of births in the UK
1) number of live births per year
2) birth rate - number of live births per 1000 of the population per year
3) total fertility rate - average number of births a woman is likely to have in her fertile years
What is the current total fertility rate in the uk? Has it increased or decreased from the past?
1.6 children - 2022
Decreased
What is a baby boom?
A sudden increase in the birth rate
Give 2 examples of baby booms in the UK and explain why they happened
Early 1920s- WW1 ended, soldiers returned home + created families
Late 1940s- WW2 ended, ^ same reason
Mid 1960s- rise of the counterculture + change in youth attitudes
Early 2010s- recession 2008-09. 2010 onwards = more financially stable
NAME the 4 reasons for the overall decline in birth rate in the UK since 1900
1) changes in the position of women
2) decline in the infant mortality rate
3) contraception
4) cost of having a child
What 4 letter acronym helps to explain the changes in the positions of women as a reason for decline in birth rate
LEEA
-laws (more legal equality)
-education
-employment (more women in paid employment)
-attitudes (changes regarding women’s family role)
What is infant mortality rate?
The number of babies who die before turning 1 per 1000 of the population
What was the infant mortality rate in the UK in 1900?
154 / 1000 = 15%
What was the infant mortality rate in the UK in 2023?
4 / 1000 = 0.4%
What are some reasons for the lower infant mortality rate we have today?
Better sanitation, improved medical knowledge, improved maternity services, mass immunisation, better nutrition ETC
Harper argues that a fall in the infant mortality rate led to a fall in the birth rate. Explain why
When infant mortality rate is high, parents will have more children to replace those who have died. If more babies survive, parents now have more children and do not need to have more.
In what year was contraception first introduced by the NHS, and who was it available for? In what year was the policy then relaxed?
1961 - only available for MARRIED WOMEN
Policy relaxed in 1967, every women.
Raising a child in the UK until 18 is estimated between £______ - £_______ for parents
£155,000 - £185,000
What caused children to transition from economic assets to economic liabilities for their families?
Laws were introduced to ban children from the workplace + introduced compulsory schooling. This prolongs their period of economic dependency on their parents
What 3 areas are impacted by a declining birth rate?
- the family
- public services
- the dependency ratio
What type of families do we see with a declining birth rate?
Smaller families - women are more likely to be free to go out to work, creating the DUAL EARNER COUPLE
What is the dependency ratio?
The relationship between the size of the working part of the population + the size of the dependent part of the population. The earnings, savings, taxes of the working population must support the dependent population
Is low dependency ratio or high dependency ratio best?
Low dependency ratio
How does the declining birth rate impact the dependency ratio?
-children make up a large part of the dependent population. Therefore a fall in birth rate reduces the ‘burden of dependency’ on workers
-in the long term: fewer babies= fewer adults = smaller working population - burden of dependency increases again
How does the declining birth rate impact public services?
-fewer schools, maternity + child services may be needed
-affects the cost of maternity/paternity leave, and the types of housing that needs to be built
Identify the 2 ways in which we can measure deaths
1) number of deaths per year
2) death rate - number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year
What is the average number of deaths per year in the uk
Approximately 500-000 - 600,000
The death rate has _____ since 1900 in the UK
HALVED
What is the average death rate in the Uk?
10 deaths per 1000 people
What is the average life expectancy for men and women in the Uk?
Men: 79
Women: 82
Give 2 reasons as to why women are expected to live longer than men
-men do more labour-intensive jobs
-men show more risky behaviour
-men account for 73% of all worldwide road traffic deaths
-men are 2x more likely to binge drink
-women only made up 5% of the prison population in the 2010s
NAME the 5 reasons for the decline in death rate (why people are living longer)
-improved nutrition
-medical improvements
-smoking and diet
-public health measures
-social changes
How has improved nutrition lowered the death rate?
Better nutrition increases resistance to infection
Give examples of medical improvements that have helped to reduce the death rate
Introduction of antibiotics, immunisation, blood transfusions, improved maternity services, the NHS 1948.
Discuss how smoking and diet have caused decline in the death rate
-huge reduction in smokers. In the 21st century: obesity has replaced smoking. In 2012, 1/4 of all UK adults were obese.
-however obesity doesn’t impact death rates like smoking did due to the medication that can maintain obesity
Discuss how smoking and diet have caused decline in the death rate
-huge reduction in smokers. In the 21st century: obesity has replaced smoking. In 2012, 1/4 of all UK adults were obese.
-however obesity doesn’t impact death rates like smoking did due to the medication that can maintain obesity
Give some examples of public health measures that have helped to lower the death rate
-improvements in housing (drier, better ventilated, less overcrowded)
-purer drinking water, pasteurisation of milk
-improved sewage disposal methods
-1952: smog led to 4000 deaths in 5 days - we now have Clean Air acts, reducing air pollutions
Give examples of some social changes since 1900 which have led to a decline in the death rate
-decline of dangerous manual occupations
-smaller families which reduced the rate of transmission of infection
-higher incomes= healthier lifestyles
-greater public knowledge of causes of illness
Highlight the class, gender and regional differences / patterns in the UK regarding life expectancy
Gender- women generally live longer than men
Class- Walker found that those living in the poorest areas of England die on average 7 years earlier than those in the richest areas.
Regional- those living in Scotland + Northern England have a lower expectancy than those in the south
What KIND of population does the UK have?
An ageing population
What do we mean by an ‘ageing population’ ?
The average age of the population is increasing over time. The average age of people in the UK now is 40
NAME the 3 factors that cause an ageing population
1) increasing life expectancy
2) declining infant mortality rate
3) declining fertility
How does an ageing population affect public services?
-older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health & social care than other age groups
-may also mean changed to policies and provision of housing, transport etck
What type of household becomes more common with an ageing population ?
One-person pensioner household. They now account for 1/8 of all households. Most are female
How does an ageing population affect the dependency ratio?
Number of people retiring increasing will increase the dependency ratio. Non-working elderly are economically dependent on the workers
Give a benefit of an ageing population
-more childcare provision eg from grandparents
-wealthy elderly people have lots of leisure time and are good consumers
Explain the ‘structured dependency’ view regarding an ageing population
-the old are excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families / the state
- in modern society your identity is largely determined by your job. elderly people lose their identity and become stigmatised, dependent and powerless
How do postmodernists interpret an ageing population?
-in a postmodern world there are no fixed statuses + you determine your own life. Greater lifestyle choice
-we now create identities by the goods we consume. ‘Youthful lifestyles’
Give a class criticism and gender criticism of the postmodern view of the ageing population and future for the elderly
Class: the middle class have greater savings / pension. Poorer older people have a short life expectancy + suffer from more health issues, making it difficult for them to remain youthful
Gender: women’s lower earnings + career breaks as mothers = lower pensions
Define migration
The process of people travelling to a new place to live, usually in large numbers. (The movement of people)
Define immigration
Individuals or groups moving into an area/society
Define emigration
Individuals or groups moving out of an area/society
What is net migration?
The difference between the number of immigrants entering a country and the number of emigrants leaving it.
Immigration - emigration = net migration
What was the net migration UK in 2023?
782,000
Give 3 push factors for emigration
-poverty
-crime
-war
-natural hazards
-lack of job opportunities
Give 3 pull factors for immigration to the uk
-jobs
-more/equal rights
-better living standards / healthcare systems
-political stability
-security
Does immigration increase or decrease the average age of the UK’s population?
decrease: immigrants are generally younger. Plus, immigrants being younger are more fertile and thus produce more babies.
how does immigration impact the dependency ratio
-immigrants are more likely to be workers which helps to lower the dependency ratio
-however because they are younger, they have more children, increasing the ratio.
give a statistic regarding student immigration
500,000 foreign students were given grants (loans) to come study in the UK - 2023
what process has fuelled immigration?
globalisation
NAME the 3 different types of migrants that Cohen identifies
1) CITIZENS
2) DENIZENS
3) HELOTS
what is a citizen migrant?
a migrant that has gained full citizenship rights. this has been harder to acquire since the 1970s
what is a denizen migrant?
privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state
what is a helot migrant?
most exploited group: reserve / disposable units of labour. sometimes enslaved by illegal traffickers
What is the idea of transnational identities?
when individuals no longer identify with just one national identity, but instead identify with a range of places + cultures they have lived within
what phrase does sociologist Vertovec use to describe modern immigration / diversity
super diversity
