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British society is seen to be very diverse in nature, with it often being referred to as a ‘multicultural society’ as a result of different cultures being found everywhere; from religion and race through to the broad class structure. Therefore with Britain being so diverse, the demographic features of British society can play a huge part in whether a business succeeds or fails. This is largely because the social and cultural environment of Britain is constantly adapting and changing making it essential for businesses to have a good understanding of this environment in order to flourish.
One key feature of British society that businesses focus on is the population size and structure; this is mainly due to the large impact that these factors can have on the economy. In terms of population size, the British population is on the increase, though in recent years (1999-2007) the cause of this increase has been primarily because of immigration rather than because of an increase in birth rates. However whilst the population size is increasing, Britain has, what is referred to as an ‘ageing population’ as a result of the largest proportion of the population being found in the later end of societies age structure. This ‘ageing population’ is happening as a result of a falling death rate and a rise in life expectancy, due to better health care etc.
Due to this increasing life expectancy, people are going to be older for longer thus meaning that there is an increased strain on the government and society who now have to support an increasing number of elderly people. This in turn means that the resources and income saved over the course of a persons working life (18-65) have to be stretched over an ever increasing number of years, which can create a huge problem as people do not have enough money to live off. The National