Birth Rates

Birth rates: meaning

The study of population sizes and structures is called demography. This involves examining birth rates, death rates, and migration trends, as well as why they happen and what their impacts are.

What is the 'birth rate'?

Simply put, the term birth rate is a test of the rate at which babies are born. It's commonly called the crude birth rate. The most widely-used definition of the term involves measuring the number of births as compared to the total size of a given population.

Measuring the 'birth rate'

Measuring a population's crude birth rate is also relatively simple. Demographers will compute the number of births for every thousand members of that population, for that year.

The crude birth rate is usually measured by country. The birth rate is just one of the several ways in which birth-related population changes are studied.

Another important measure to be aware of is total fertility rate (TFR). TFR is the most popular measure used by demographers. It looks at the average number of children that women have in their childbearing years and is recalculated every year.

The importance of measuring birth rates

Combining the measures of birth rates and fertility rates provides demographers with an accurate idea of whether a given population is shrinking or growing.

Fig. 1 - It is important to contextualise birth rate patterns within the structures and functions of other aspects of society.

This is important because rapid changes in the structure of a population (regardless of whether it's increasing or declining) can heavily impact society's infrastructure. This includes agencies like the economy and the healthcare system.

UK birth rates

Demographic trends have been subject to high levels of fluctuation in the UK since the early 20th century. In 1901, the UK had a population of around 38 million. According to the World Bank, this number is now more than 65 million.

It's important to note that the rate at which the British population is growing has significantly declined.

While population growth rates are slowing, the statistics are still indicative of population growth. Natural change is a key concept in this discussion.

There have been more births than deaths in the UK every year, except for one, since 1901. This is another indication, despite the decline in birth rates over time, that the UK's population is still growing.

Reasons for declining birth rates in sociology

While it's useful for demographers to study population structures and changes, there's little use in collecting this data if we aren't also considering what it means for the world. Sociologists examine the nature, origins, and impacts of changing birth rates from several different perspectives.

Now that we've established the general declining pattern of birth rates, let's take a look at its causes and effects.

Individualisation

Post-modernity has triggered many changes that have caused decreasing birth rates. The decline of traditional norms and values - a process that Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim (1995) call individualisation - plays a significant role here.

Furthermore, the individualisation thesis also explains that people are free and willing to create a life for themselves. This is a freedom that children can potentially take from adults, as a result of the familial and economic responsibilities they demand.

Changing gender roles

Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck regard changing gender roles as the most important factor in explaining declining birth rates. The rise of feminism has resulted in increased opportunities for women to pursue full-time studies and careers; in addition, there is less pressure on women (in some societies) to have children.

This is demonstrated by changes in the UK's TFR over the last century. The estimated TFR in the UK was 3.5 children per woman in 1900. This has declined to just 1.58 children per woman in 2021.

The change in gender roles is accompanied by a shift in what it means not to have children. Instead of seeing themselves as 'childless', many women now see themselves as 'child-free'.

The terminology is key: the latter is indicative of a women's choice to not bear children.

Economic changes

Globally, the trend is that the wealthier the country, the lower the birth rate. Economic growth and better living standards mean that adults have fewer children. This is because of:

• decreased infant mortality rates,

• improved hygiene and sanitation, and

• improvements in healthcare and the developing role of the welfare state.

The drop in infant mortality rates means that adults don't need to have 'replacement babies' to replace deceased children.

Equally, children are no longer the economic asset they used to be. In the early 19th century, children worked and contributed to the family income. However, child labour has long since been banned, and the length of schooling has been extended. Children are now financially dependent on their families for much longer than before.

Effects of declining birth rates worldwide

We will now look at some effects of declining birth rates. How does this impact society?

Fig. 2 - People are choosing to have fewer and fewer children as cultural standards and economic conditions change

Dependency ratio

The long-term decline in birth and fertility rates has led to changes in the dependency ratio.

A lower birth rate means that soon, there will be fewer people of working age, which will lead to greater numbers of dependent people. This is bound to result in a strain on public services, such as hospitals and welfare, as well as on the working population, to meet the social and financial needs of dependents.

The reason why this has been offset in the UK thus far is due to high levels of migration into the country, which has balanced out the sizes of working and non-working populations.

Gender roles

Furthermore, falling fertility rates can lead to even further changes in gender roles, giving women more time for their careers and perhaps leading to relationships between women and men becoming more equal.

Families and households

Falling birth and fertility rates in the UK over the past century indicate that families, on average, are much smaller than they once were. It is most common for there to be two children in families across the UK, with the number of women choosing to have three or more children - and in some cases, any children at all - consistently decreasing from decade to decade since the early 20th century.