Death Rates

The death rate worldwide

Similar to the crude birth rate, the death rate is a demographic measure. It is equally subject to fluctuation, as the numbers correspond with the economic, social, and political conditions to which particular populations are subjected.

Fig. 1 - The death rate is a demographic measure of mortality among certain populations, at certain periods of time.

'Death rate' meaning

According to Merriam-Webster (n.d.), the term death rate is defined as follows:

The death rate is also commonly referred to as the 'mortality rate', or the 'crude death rate'.

Measuring death rate

The death rate is measured by calculating the number of deaths per 1,000 individuals, per year (sometimes, per 100,000 individuals).

We can measure mortality in many different ways. The three most popular methods among sociologists and demographers are:

• The crude death rate, or the actual number of deaths within a period of time (typically, a year).

• The death rate, in the sense of the number of deaths per 1000 individuals in the given population.

• The infant mortality rate, measuring the number of deaths of infants under the age of one, per 1000 live births.

Death rate by country

The death rate is usually measured by country, which varies greatly due to differences in living standards and economic conditions. According to the World Population Review, some of the leading causes of death between 1990 and 2019 were:

• Cardiovascular disease

• Diabetes

• Cancer

However, it's important to note that more developed countries are among the healthiest around the globe as a result of their advanced medical and healthcare systems. This means that diet-related diseases like cardiovascular illness and diabetes are less prevalent there than they are in less developed countries.

Drawing on United Nations' studies from 2015-2020, the World Population Review (2022) reported:

• Bulgaria has the world's highest death rate of 15.4. Similarly to its European counterparts, this is a result of chronic health conditions related to the circulatory or respiratory systems. These illnesses are not contagious.

• Qatar has the world's lowest death rate of 1.2, which research attributes to significant medical and technological advancements in the country.

It is also important to be aware of the impact of other social conditions, like social class, ethnicity, and gender upon death rates and life expectancies of different parts of the population.

A decline in death rate

It's important to note that it can be challenging to investigate changes in death rates over time, as definitions of disease and causes of death are ever-changing. Let's take a look at the decline of death rates in the UK.

Death rate statistics

Despite the fluctuation that population structures are subjected to, the death rate has declined over the past century in the UK. However, only taking the death rate into account is far too simplistic to get an idea of the nature of the decline.

Fig. 2 - The general trend of the death rate in the UK is a downward one.

Now that we've established the general downward pattern of death rates in the UK over the past century, we need to look a bit further.

Let's look at some statistics in line with the mortality measures outlined above.

• The crude death rate has remained relatively steady in the UK. There were just under 656,000 deaths in 1901, and around 689,000 deaths in 2020 (Clark, 2022).
• However, the death rate has significantly declined. In 1901, the UK's death rate was 18.4; in 2020, it was 9.4 (Clark, 2022).
• The infant mortality rate has also dramatically decreased over the past century. Between 1901 and 2020, it fell from 142 to 3.8 (Clark, 2022).

Causes of low death rates

Let's now look at the many sociological explanations of changing death rates, including the causes and effects of the declining death rates.

Sociological explanations of the declining death rate

Society has undergone numerous changes that have helped the death rate decline.

Death Rates: Social and welfare policies

At the turn of the 20th century, the state began to play a more instrumental role in the well-being of populations. Some of the changes which markedly reduced the death rate were:

• Sewage disposal, water purification, and food hygiene standards, all of which are mandated through the establishment of health and safety laws (such as the Clean Air Act of 1956).

• Adequate nutrition for the poor via free school meals.

• Access to healthcare for poor children through school medical examinations.

• The establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948.

Death rates: Improved living standards

In line with welfare policies concerning health and safety, better quality housing was created, which also contributed to improving the overall standard of living. Higher general incomes meant people could afford high-quality housing, which was better suited to the damp and cold conditions of the UK.

Higher incomes also meant citizens could pay higher taxes. This generated more money for the state to invest back into welfare policies and implementation.

Death rates: Education

Sociologists also suggest that education is a powerful cause of declining death rates. This is because of the impact of education on informing citizens of the importance of healthy habits like exercise, and the dangers of unhealthy habits like smoking.

Better access to formal education also means that people are less likely to work manual labour jobs. This reduces the incidence of workplace injuries and illnesses.

Effects of declining death rates

It is important to consider the effects of declining death rates, both short-term and long-term.

Dependency ratio

Just like birth and fertility rates, the decline in death rates leads to fluctuations in the dependency ratio.

A declining death rate results in a higher dependency ratio. However, this relates more to the increase in life expectancy, than it does to the decline in the death rate itself. As technology and medicine continue to advance, the elderly are living longer and healthier lives. This creates a larger non-working population that is dependent on the young, economically productive part of the population, as well as the state.

A potential criticism of this view is that, because the elderly are living longer and healthier lives, they are also likely to be economically productive for longer than was historically the case. Nowadays, people aged 65 and over also tend to have more economic resources such as savings, and sometimes are in a position where they are supporting their adult children.

Families and households

Due to an increase in life expectancy, grandparents are likely to play a more active role in their grandchildren's lives. Furthermore, the beanpole family structure becomes more common.

Fig. 3 - The declining death rate and increasing life expectancy have several implications for the functions and structures of families.

Another potential change to family structure is the increase in the sandwich generation. The Pew Research Centre defines the sandwich generation as those who are burdened with the financial responsibilities of both their parents and their children. They are middle-aged adults 'sandwiched' between non-working parents, and children who are struggling to achieve economic independence.