1. Topic 4: Demography
What you need to • The main population trends in the UK since 1900
know • What has caused the changes in the birth, fertility and death rates, aging and migration.
• The social effects of these population changes.
• The effects of an aging population.
• Migration patterns
The main population trends in the UK since 1900
Births & Deaths • Apart from the baby booms after the wars and in the 1960s there has been a steady fall in
the birth rate
• Apart from during the wars and the depression in the 1930s the death rate has also steadily
fallen
What has caused the changes in the birth, fertility and death rates, aging and migration.
Why has the birth rate • Changes in the position of women
declined? • Decline in the infant mortality rate
• Children have become an economic liability
• Child centeredness
Why has there been a • Improved nutrition
fall in the death rate? • Medical improvements
• Public health improvements
• Greater knowledge of illness so better lifestyle choices
The social effects of these population changes.
What is the effect of • Women are able to work
the decline in the birth • Dual earner families
rate? • Reduces the burden of dependency so the dependency ratio is healthier
• Needs for public services change (schools and maternity services)
The effects of an aging population.
Why do we have an • Key term: ageing population means the average age of the population is getting older.
ageing population? • We have more older people & less younger people!
• Increase in life expectancy
• Low infant mortality rate
• Declining fertility
Effects of an ageing • One-person pensioner household
population • The dependency ratio
• Social construction of ageing as a ‘problem’
• Policy implications
• Beanpole family
Migration
Immigration: People • From 1900 - 1940s the largest immigration groups in the UK were the Irish, European Jews
moving into a country and people of British decent from USA and Canada – very few immigrants were non white
• During 1950s-1970s non-white immigrants =>Caribbean, Africa and South Asia.
• By 2001, minority ethnic groups accounted for 7.9% of the population.
• From 1960s-1990 the Government has placed severe restrictions on non-white immigration
• By 1980s non-whites accounted for barely ¼ of immigrants
• The white countries of the EU became the chief source of immigrants
Emigration: People • Since 1900 most emigrants have gone to USA, Canada, NZ and South Africa.
moving out of a • The main reasons for emigration have been economic
country • ‘Push’ factor – something that makes you want to move away
• ‘Pull’ factor – moving to gain something
Population levels • The current birth rate will not sustain our population
• So it is the net migration that is stopping the population from declining
• Migrants tend to be of working age therefore reducing the dependency ratio.
• However, immigrant women tend to have more children, thus create more people on the
dependent side of the ratio.
• But this will increase the population & reduce the average age and ultimately produce more
workers in the future which will reduce the dependency ratio.
• The longer the immigrant group is settled in a country the closer the fertility rate gets to the
national average.

2. Demography Key Terms
What does demography mean? The study of populations & their characteristics:
its size & age structure
What factors affect a population’s size? Births, deaths, immigration & emigration
What do sociologists mean by the ‘birth rate’? Number of live births per 1000 of the population per year
What do sociologists mean by the ‘death Number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year
rate’?
What is immigration? The movement into an area
What is emigration? The movement out of an area
What is the total fertility rate? The average number of children a woman would have in their lifetime
What is the infant mortality rate? The number of deaths of infants under 1yr per 1000 live births
What does life expectancy mean? The number of years that a person can expect to live
What is an ageing population? A population in which the average age is increasing