The death rate is the number of deaths that happen per 1,000 people each year. The death rate in the United Kingdom was 9.4 deaths per 1,000 in 2016. As a result of improved hygiene, sanitation and medicine in modern society has enabled the death rate to significantly decrease. The consequences of having an population that is living for longer is an uneven dependency ratio which has wider societal impacts. For example; housing issues, welfare and pension issues and impact on the health care services.