There's a big philosophical question about what happens to people once they are dead. In sociology, the more important questions concern their (nonmedical) cause of death, as well as what it means for the people and systems they've left behind.
How do social systems and structures affect death rates?
- In this explanation, we will first define what the 'death rate' is.
- Then, we're going to examine death rates in the UK since the 1900s.
- After this, we'll ask an important sociological question - how have death rates changed?
- Finally, we will look at their causes and consequences as well.
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 "the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population during a particular time period".
The death rate is also commonly referred to as the 'mortality rate', or the 'crude death rate'.
The crude death rate doesn't distinguish incidences of death by different causes, or among different demographics - it's purely a measure of all deaths within a certain time frame.
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).
Remember to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic when thinking about these statistics.
It might be odd to see that the death rate has declined, even though the number of deaths has remained quite steady over time. This is because the birth rate is declining at a much slower rate than the death rate is declining.
This means that the net impact of these demographic changes is an increase - the population is still growing because more people are born than are dying each year. So, the death rate will decrease.
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.
The dependency ratio is the relationship between the economically productive part of the population and non-workers or dependents, such as children or the elderly.
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.
The beanpole family structure is long and thin. There are more generations, but fewer uncles, aunts, cousins, and the like. This is a result of higher life expectancy and lower birth rates.
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.
Death Rates - Key takeaways
- The death rate is a demographic measure of mortality in a given population. It is measured by calculating the number of deaths per 1,000 individuals, per year.
- The death rate in the UK has declined since the 1900s. The decline in death rates can be attributed to social and welfare policies which have improved the environment and access to nutrition/healthcare for all.
- Further causes of declining death rates are improved living standards through economic growth, as well as more widespread access to education. This deters people from engaging in harmful behaviours.
- The impact of falling death rates on wider society is a higher dependency ratio, where there is a larger population of non-working dependents relying on financial assistance from younger, economically productive people.
- Changes to family structures include it becoming longer and thinner (a beanpole structure; more generations and less horizontal extension), with grandparents more involved in the grandchildren's lives.
References
- Clark, D. (2022). Death in the UK - Statistics & facts. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/6656/death-in-the-uk/#topicHeader__wrapper
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Death rate. merriam-webster.com
- World Population Review. (2022). Death rate by country 2022. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/death-rate-by-country
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