Death Rates

• Death rate:

  • the number of deaths per 1000 per year
• Trends

  • declining
  • with the exception of fluctuations in WW1, WW2 and the 1918 flu epidemic
• Reasons for a decline in death rate

  • improved nutrition
  • medical improvements (e.g. vaccinations, antibiotics, NHS)
  • public health improvements (e.g. better housing, clean water, clean air)
  • social change (e.g. decline in manual labour, greater knowledge of disease)