birth rate

• birth rate - the number of live births per 1000 of the population per year

  • long term decline in the number of births since 1900
  • the birth rate in 1900 was 28.7 per 1000
  • in 2020, the birth rate was 11.4 per 1000
  • a baby boom is an increase in the birth rate - happened after both world wars and in the 60s
• total fertility rate - the average number of children that women will have during their fertile years

  UK's TFR has risen since 2001, but it is still much lower than in the past. In 2001, it hit an all-time low of 1.6 children per woman but rose to 1.8 by 2014. This is still much lower than 2.95 per woman in the 1960s baby boom.

  These changes reflect the fact

  • More women are remaining childless than in the past.
  • Women are postponing having children. Average age for giving birth is now 30
  • Fertility rates for women in their 30s and 40s are increasing.
• 1. reasons for birth rate declining since 1900

  the role and position of women in society changed.

  • Educational opportunities
  • More women in the workplace.
  • Easier access to divorce
  •   Access to abortion, reliable contraception

  there are now a range of possibilities for women, other than being a housewife, meaning women can

  •   Women choosing to delay childbearing
  •   Women choosing not to have children.

  in 2020, one in 5 women were childfree by the age 45
• 2 reason

  Decline in imr

  IMR - the number of infants who die before their first birthday, per 1000 babies, yearly

  In the past, if many children died, parents were more likely to have more children to replace them, therefore increasing the birthrate

  the IMR in 1900 was 154 per 1000

  UK's IMR fell at the start of the 20th century due to

  • improved housing
  • better nutrition
  • better knowledge of children's health

  From 1950s, medical factors greatly reduced IMR. Children were immunised with antibiotics 

  the UK's IMR by 1950 was 30 per 1000

  the UK's IMR in 2012 was 3.6 per 1000
• 1. reasons for birth rate declining since 1900

  Child centredness

  • A changing social norm in society is the way we view children
  • It has been argued by sociologists that children are now seen as more important and more attention and resources are given to them. 
  • This may mean that parents have fewer children.
• effects of changes in fertility 

  the family

  1. in smaller families women are likelier to be free to go work, have more leisure time
  2. better off couples may still be able to have larger families as they can still afford childcare
  3. willmott + Young - better off families are more symmetrical
• effects of changes in fertility 

  the dependency ratio

  1. the dependent population - the nonworking part of the population
  2. dependency ratio - the relationship between the size of the working and productive population and the size of the nonworking unproductive part
  3. the burden of dependency increases as less babies are born means fewer young adults and a smaller working population.
  4. vanishing children - failing fertility rates meaning fewer children born, less siblings making children more valuable
• effects of changes in fertility 

  public services

  1. lower birth rates affects public services eg school because they will receive less funds due to having less students - lowers the quality of learning for children meaning lower educational attainment
  2. ageing population - the rise of average age - more old people relative to young people - caused by fewer women having children