Demography

• The birth rate in England and Wales fell from 18/1000 to just 11/1000 between 1950 and 2023
• The Total Fertility Rate declined from 2.9 babies per woman in 1960 to just 1.6 babies per woman in 2022
• Birth Rate


  Total number of live births per thousand members of the population per year
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR)


  The average number of live children that a group of women would have if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates for the calendar year in question throughout their childbearing lifespan
• Both the birth rate and the total fertility rate have almost halved in the last 70 years
• Reasons for the decline in UK birth rate


  • Economic changes
  • Technological changes
  • Changes in the role of women
  • Postmodernisation
  • Changes to the position of children
• Economic changes


  • Improved living standards and the recent rising cost of living
• Technological and medical advances

  • Contraception
• Changes in the role of women


  • More women in work means they have fewer babies
• Postmodernisation


  • Individualisation means having children is more of a choice, less of a norm
• Changes to childhood


  • Children are now very expensive!
• Globally, the wealthier the country, the lower the birth rate
• Economic growth and rising living standards mean adults have fewer children
• Better quality housing, nutrition, education and medical care reduce the infant mortality rate, meaning parents have fewer 'replacement babies'
• As societies evolve and become more complex, other institutions take over key functions of the family, so people have fewer children
• People are so busy working they don't have time to start families, which is the case in contemporary Japan
• Infant mortality has decreased significantly in the UK since 1980, from 12/1000 babies in 1980 to just 3.7/1000 in 2021
• Plastic sexuality


  Sex becomes detached from reproduction due to contraceptive technologies
• The Pill gave women control of their reproduction and they could choose when to have children
• IVF and the freezing of eggs mean women can delay having children into their 40s
• Changes in the role of women


  • Women now make up half the work force, and career now comes first for many, delaying childbearing by an average of ten years
• Up to 1/4 women are expected to remain childless
• Postmodernisation


  • Decline of traditional norms and values, contraception no longer stigmatised, individualisation means putting own needs first
• Until the late 19th century children were an asset, now they are an economic liability as they spend 18 years in education
• People have fewer children because we now live in a 'child centred society' where parents are expected to spend more money and time engaged with their children
• The death rate is the number of deaths in relation to the number of people in a population
• The crude mortality (or death) rate in England and Wales was approximately 10/1000 in 2021
• The death rate has decreased significantly since 1840 when the death rate was approximately 23/1000
• The death rate has halved in the last century, declining from 23/1000 in 1840 to 10/1000 today
• The death rate decreased most rapidly between 1840 and 1830
• Since 1930 the death rate has declined overall, but at a slower rate
• There were spikes in the death rate during WW1 and WW2
• The death rate has increased since 2010, when the Tory government came to power
• There were more deaths in England and Wales due to the Coronavirus Pandemic especially in 2020 and 2021
• The age standardised death rate for males increased from 1079 per thousand in 2019 to 1236 per thousand in 2020
• The age standardised death rate for females increased from 798 per thousand in 2019 to 894 per thousand in 2020
• The death rates now seem to be coming back down to what they were before the Pandemic
• Economic growth and improved living standards resulting in declining infant mortality and increased life expectancy help explain the declining death rate
• Medical advances such as improved immunisation and better survival rates from 'diseases of affluence' such as heart disease help explain the declining death rate
• Social policies and improved public health such as the establishment of the NHS and pollution laws help explain the declining death rate