Demography

There has been a long term decline in the number of births from a birth rate of 28.7 in 1900 to 12.2 in 2014. However, there have been flunctuations in births with three baby booms, the first two came after the world wars and the third one in the 1960s

The factors determining the birth rate are the proportion of women who are of childbearing age (15-44) and how fertile they are which is shown through the total fertility rate. In 1964 during the peak of the baby boom this was 2.95 but by 2014 it had dropped to 1.83. This reflects the fact that more women are remaining childless and women are postponing having children with the average age of giving birth being 30

Reasons for the decline in the birth rate

1. Changes in women's position

This includes achieving the right to vote, increased educational opportunities, more women in paid employment, changes in attitudes to family life, easier access to divorce and access to abortion and contraception

Education has been seen as the most important reason because it has led to a changed mind set, resulting in fewer children. Educated women are more likely to be aware of family planning as well as seeing other opportunities in life such as a career rather than marriage and a family. This is reflected with how in 2012 1 in 5 women aged 45 was childless, double the number of 25 years earlier

2. Decline in the infant mortality rate

Harper argues that a fall in the IMR leads to a fall in the birth rate because if many infants die parents have more children to replace those they have lost. In 1900 the IMR for the UK was 154. It began to fall during the first half of the 20th century because of improved housing, better sanitation which reduces infectious diseases, better nutrition, better knowledge of children's health and improved services for mothers and children such as antenatal clinics

From the 1950s medical factors began to play a greater role in reducing the IMR. Examples showing this include mass immunisation against childhood diseases and improved midwifery. By 2012 the IMR stood at just 4

However, Brass & Kabir argue that the trend to smaller families began in urban areas where the IMR remained higher for longer

3. Children are now an economic liability

Children used to be an economic asset to the family but since the late 19th century they became an economic liability because of laws restricting child labour and changing norms about what children should expect from their parents in material terms. Due to these financial pressures parents are less willing to have a large family

4. Child centredness

The increasing child centredness of the family and society means that childhood is socially constructed as a special and important stage of someone's life. This has encouraged a shift from quantity to quality

Effects of changes in fertility

Changes in the number of babies born affect several aspects of society:

• The family - Smaller families mean that women are more likely to be able to go out to work creating the dual earner couple. However, better off couples may be able to have larger families and still afford childcare that allows them to work full time
• The dependency ratio - The earnings, savings and taxes of the working population must support the dependent population. A fall in the number of children reduces the burden of dependency but at the same time increases the burden of dependency for the future
• Public services - Fewer schools and maternity services may be needed. The average age of the population is also rising 

In 1900 the death rate stood at 19 whereas by 2012 it has more than halved to 8.9

Reasons for the decline in the death rate

A fall in the number of deaths from infectious diseases such as measles and smallpox contributed to a big decline. By the 1950s diseases of affulence such as obesity and cancers became the main cause of death

1. Improved nutrition

McKeown says that better nutrition increased resistance to infection and increased the survival chances of those who did become infected, we know more about nutrition thanks to intitatives such as 5 a day

However, he does not explain why females who have a smaller share of the food supply live longer than men

2. Medical improvements

After the 1950s improved medical knowledge helped to reduce death rates. This includes the introduction of antibiotics, immunisation, as well as the setting up of the National Health Service in 1948 which provided free healthcare for all, particularly reducing death rates among the poor

3. Smoking & diet

Harper says the greatest fall in death rates has not come from medical improvements but from a reduction in the number of people smoking. However, obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic with 1/4 of all UK adults obese in 2012. Deaths however from obesity are kept low due to our 'American' culture where lifestyles are unhealthy but a long lifespan is achieved through the use of costly medication

4. Public health measures

More effective government with the power to enforce laws led to a range of improvements in public health such as improvements in local housing such as better ventilated and less overcrowded accommodation, cleaner drinking water, improved sewage disposal methods and the Clean Air Acts reducing pollution

5. Other social changes

These include the decline of dangerous occupations such as mining, smaller families reducing the rate of transmission of infection, lifestyle changes and higher incomes allowing for a healthier lifestyle

Life expectancy

Males born in 1900 could expect to live to 50 whilst women to 57. Males born in 2013 can expect to live to 90 whilst women to 94

If the trend to a long lifespan continues Harper predicts that we will soon achieve radical longevity with many more centenarians. Currently there are 10,000 in the UK by 2100 there are projected to be one million

Working class men in unskilled jobs are nearly three times as likely to die before they are 65 compared with men in managerial jobs. Those living in the North and Scotland have a lower life expectancy too

In 1971 the average age of the UK population was 34.1. By 2037 it is projected to reach 42.8. Hirsch notes that the traditional age pyramid is disappearing and being replaced by more or less equal sized blocks. The ageing of the population is caused by three factors; increasing life expectancy, decling infant mortality and declining fertility

Effects of an ageing population

1. Public services

Older people comsume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care, such as care homes. In addition to increased expenditure on health care, an ageing population may also mean changes to policies and provision of housing, transport etc such as free bus passes for the over 60s

2. One person pensioner households

The number of one person pensioner households now account for 1 in 8 of all households. Most of these are female because women generally live longer than men and because they are usually younger than their husbands

3. The dependency ratio

The non working old are an economically dependent group who need to be provided for by the working age through taxation to pay for pensions etc. In 2015 there were 3.2 people of working age for every one pensioner and this is predicted to fall. However, the age at which people can draw their pension is rising as from 2020 both women and men will have to wait until 66

Modern society & old age

Most sociologists argue that ageism is the result of structured dependency. The old are largely excluded from paid work and in modern society our identity is structured through our job so those excluded from work through compulsory retirement have a dependent status and a stigmatised identity

Phillpson argues that the old are of no use to capitalism as they are no longer productive so the state is unwilling to support them leaving it to their family. In modern society, life is structured into a set of fixed life stages with age being important in role allocation such as worker or pensioner. The old are thus excluded from a role in the labour force and are made to feel dependent and powerless

Postmodern society & old age

Postmodernists say that today the fixed, orderly stages of the life course have broken down. Examples showing this include children dressing in adult styles and later marriage. This gives individuals a greater choice of lifestyle whatever their age

Unlike in modern society, consumption not production becomes the key to our identities. Hunt says we can now choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of our age. As a result, the old become a market for a vast range of boday maintenance goods and services such as gym memberships and anti ageing products such as through the Dove campaigns

These trends brown down ageist stereotypes with the centrality of the media now portraying the elderly in a more positive light such as with shows like Grace and Frankie

Inequality among the old

Pilcher argues that inequalities such as class and gender remain important in the stages of the life course. The middle class have greater savings resulting in better pensions. Poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy. Women's lower earnings and career breaks also result in lower pensions and they are subject to sexist stereotyping such as being called old hags

Policy implications

Hirsch argues that a number of social policies will need to change to tackle the problems posed by an ageing population. This could be higher taxes to pay for their social care as well as housing policies to encourage older people to trade down into smaller accomodation such as the Bedroom Tax

Immigration

From 1900 to the Second World War the largest immigrant group were the Irish for economic reasons, followed by European Jews who were refugees fleeing persecution. The majority of immigrants were white. By contrast, during the 1950s Black Caribbeans arrived to help rebuild the wartorn cities followed during the 1960s and 70s by South Asian immigrants. In the 1990s and early 2000s most immigrants have been from the European Union. This has resulted in a more ethnically diverse society as in 2011 minorities accounted for 14% of the population

Emigration

Until the 1980s more people emigrated to live elsewhere than came to settle in the UK, mainly going to the USA, Australia and Canada. The main reasons have been economic and down to push and pull factors

The impact of migration on UK population structure

Population structure - The UK population is growing as a result of immigration. Net migration is high at 260,000 in 2014 and there is also a natural increase with births to non UK mothers being higher resulting in 25% of all births

Age structure - Immigration lowers the average age of the population as immigrants are generally younger as many are economically driven and as they are younger they produce more babies

Dependency ratio - Immigrants help to lower the dependency ratio and because they have more children then they help to keep it low as these children will become workers

Many see globalisation as producing rapid social changes such as increased international migration. There are several trends in global migration -

Acceleration - Between 2000 and 2013 international migration increased by 33% to reach 3.2% of the world's population

Differentiation - There are different types of migrants. Since the 1990s globalisation has led to super diversity where migrants come from a wider range of countries and even within these countries the individuals differ in terms of their legal status. Cohen distinguishes between three types of migrants; Citizens with full citizenship rights which is harder to obtain now, Denizens who are privileged foreign nationals such as CEOs of multinational compaines and Helots who are the most exploited group consisting of slaves

Feminisation of migration - Today almost half of global migrants are female. Care work, domestic work and sex work in western countries is increasingly done by women from poor countries. This is because of the expansion of service occupations which traditionally employ women, western women being unable to perform domestic work due to an increase in their paid work, western men remaining unwilling to perform domestic labour and the failure of the state to provide adequate childcare

Migrant identities

According to Eriksen, globalisation has created more back and forth movements of people so as a result migrants are less likely to see themselves as belonging completely to one culture but instead develop transnational identities such as a British Pakistani

The politicisation of migration

Migration has become an important political issue with more policies seeking to control immigration:

• Assimilationism encouraged immigrants to adopt the values and customs of the host country to make them 'like us'. However, these policies discourage those with transnational identities who may be unwilling to belong to just one state
• Multiculturalism accepts that migrants may wish to keep a separate cultural identity but it is split up into shallow diversity such as regarding the chicken tikka masala as Britain's national dish as being acceptable and deep diversity such as arranged marriages. Multiculturalism often accepts shallow diversity but not deep diversity such as France making the burka illegal in 2010