Population and economic activities in the UK

• The UK has undergone considerable changes to the population structure in terms of both age and ethnic composition.
• The economy has also changed and has been influenced by globalisation.
• The UK's population has gone through the demographic transition model.
• The UK's population rapidly rose between 1760 and 1880, as death rates fell due to better sanitation and food supplies, whilst birth rates remained high (Stage 1).
• There was then slower growth up to 1940, as death rates continued to drop due to medical advances but birth rates dropped rapidly due to the use of birth control and the industrialisation of the country (Stage 3).
• By 1940, the UK entered stage 4, the low fluctuating stage.
• The UK has an ageing population.
• The population structure in the UK is caused by a declining birth rate as well as increasing life expectancy.
• Declining birth rate
• Women at work - there are now more women in work, which increases the age at which women try to have a baby.
• As a result, women only give birth to children for a relatively short period and so there are fewer births.
• Tertiary education - there are also now more women going to university and pursuing careers.
• They may either delay having children or decide not to have children at all.
• The development of universal free healthcare, including vaccinations and the National Health Service, reduces deaths from diseases such as TB and measles, increasing the number of people living to 65 years and older.
• There will also be housing problems as there will be an increase in demand for more retirement homes, which are expensive and could well increase taxes paid by the working population.
• The development of medical technology, including new drugs that treat cancer and other degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, has increased life expectancy and so increased the number of people aged 65 and over.
• As well as the increased costs for health and welfare services there will also be increased pension costs, which could result in a fall in the value of pensions, causing increases in pensioner poverty, or tax rises may be required to meet the needs of the increasing population of pensioners.
• An older population will need an increase in services such as meals on wheels and home care, which will need extra staff and will also cost more.
• The decline in the number of people in arduous and dangerous jobs such as coal mining and steel making, and the increase in tertiary sector office-based jobs, has increased life expectancy and so the number of people aged over 65.
• There will be a greater need for healthcare, particularly geriatric wards and for expensive specialist health services such as hip replacements, as a result of an ageing population.
• Family planning education is available in schools, increasing the number of people who know how to control their own fertility and have fewer unplanned babies.