Population Demographic Transition Model

The changes in the birth and death rates and the effect on population can be shown on the Demographic Transition Model. This is based on the changes in the populations experiences in European countries after the Industrial Revolution.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : Lack of family planning Low spending on health care generally means that few have access to advice on how to limit family size or contraceptives.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : High Infant Mortality Rate The high amount of babies who die mean that families have more children in the hope that some survive. They compensate for those babies that die by having more, so the birth rate is high.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : Children to help on farms Having more people to help to grow crops/collect water on the farm will help these subsistence farmers provide enough food for themselves.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : Religious beliefs Many religions forbid the use of contraception. This leads to couples having large families.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : Low status of women In some developing countries women are seen as mothers and home-makers, and so are not encouraged to pursue an education or career. Their main work is often housework, collecting water and producing children.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : Increased status for men Men who have large families are seen as having high status in some cultures.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Birth Rates are high because : Poor education levels Inability to read may mean that even if contraceptives are available they may not be used effectively.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Death Rates are high because : High levels of disease Dirty supplies of water spread disease through the population, causing many to die at a relatively young age. Poor sanitation – the mixing of clean and dirty water is a major cause of death here. Overcrowding can make this situation even worse.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Death Rates are high because : Lack of access to health care When people fall ill, the lack of health care available makes it difficult for them to recover. They are unable to work or to produce food and so their situation may worsen, eventually leading to them to die.

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Death Rates are high because : Poor diets People may suffer from food shortages, leading to under-nutrition. They may have enough food to avoid starvation but lack variety, causing malnutrition. Either way health is badly affected by poor diets. People in some developing countries die of measles – not through a lack of medicine, but from a poor diet!

Stage Stage 1 - High Stationary Birth Rate and Death rate are both high. Death Rates are high because : Poor housing Overcrowding in housing can cause and spread disease through a population quickly. Unsafe housing Typical of Britain in the 18th century and the Least Economically Developed Countries (LEDC's) today. Effects on population – remains low and stable since births and deaths cancel each other out.

Stage Stage 2 - Early Expanding Birth Rate remains high because of all the same reasons as in Stage 1.

Stage Stage 2 - Early Expanding With the Birth Rare remaining high and the Death Rate falling the population begins to rise steadily. Death Rate is falling because: Improved health care Improvements in scientific and medical knowledge have meant that people can be treated for illnesses and diseases that previously killed them, eg the smallpox vaccine reduced the numbers dying from this disease dramatically.

Stage Stage 2 - Early Expanding With the Birth Rare remaining high and the Death Rate falling the population begins to rise steadily. Death Rate is falling because: Improved Hygiene Improvements in sanitation – keeping dirty water separate from clean water – significantly reduced deaths due to disease. The building of sewerage systems and boiling drinking water helped death rates fall.

Stage Stage 2 - Early Expanding With the Birth Rare remaining high and the Death Rate falling the population begins to rise steadily. Death Rate is falling because: Improved food production and storage A greater variety and quantity of food meant that people’s diets were now improving, leading to better health and them living longer.

Stage Stage 2 - Early Expanding With the Birth Rare remaining high and the Death Rate falling the population begins to rise steadily. Death Rate is falling because: Improved transport for food With better transport systems developing as a result of technology eg train lines being laid in new areas, food can now reach many more parts of the world

Stage Stage 2 - Early Expanding With the Birth Rare remaining high and the Death Rate falling the population begins to rise steadily. Death Rate is falling because: Decreased Infant Mortality Rates The amount of babies dying before they reach one year is also falling. This is due to the mothers being healthier (because of all the factors already mentioned) and better medical care to look after them. Typical of Britain in 19th century; Bangladesh; Nigeria now. Effects on population – begins to rise dramatically. Births are now much higher than deaths.

Stage Stage 3 - Late Expanding Birth Rate starts to fall. Death Rate continues to fall. Population rising. Death rate continues to fall due to the same reason as in Stage 2.

Stage Stage 3 - Late Expanding Birth Rate starts to fall. Death Rate continues to fall. Population rising. Birth Rate is falling because: Family planning available With better access to advice on how to reduce the number of children couples no longer need to have large families. They can make a decision as to how many children they want to have.

Stage Stage 3 - Late Expanding Birth Rate starts to fall. Death Rate continues to fall. Population rising. Birth Rate is falling because: Lower Infant Mortality As the death rate falls in the population as a whole, so too does it fall for babies. Healthier mothers, better medical facilities and knowledge as well as better hygiene all help the young have a better chance of survival.

Stage Stage 3 - Late Expanding Birth Rate starts to fall. Death Rate continues to fall. Population rising. Birth Rate is falling because: Increased mechanisation As technology develops, machinery is used on the land to help farmers to grow more crops. There is now less of a need to have many children to help on the farm.

Stage Stage 3 - Late Expanding Birth Rate starts to fall. Death Rate continues to fall. Population rising. Birth Rate is falling because: Changing status of women As the role of women changes from being one of a homemaker and provider for the family, to one of more equal status with men, many will stay in education, pursue a career or travel before they decide to start a family. This means there is a shorter period in a woman’s life in which she will allow herself to become pregnant, leading her to have fewer babies.

Stage Stage 3 - Late Expanding Birth Rate starts to fall. Death Rate continues to fall. Population rising. Birth Rate is falling because: Improved standards of living As a country and its people gets wealthier, there may be more desire for material goods like second homes, cars or holidays rather than having more children. Children are expensive. Typical of Britain in late 19th and early 20th century. China and Brazil now. Effects on population – continues to rise steadily as births are still higher than deaths.

Stage Stage 4 - Low Stationary Birth Rate and Death Rate both low because of the reasons in Stages 2 and 3. Typical of USA; Sweden; Japan; Britain Effects on population – high but stable population as births and deaths are again similar.

Stage Stage 4Stage 3 Stage 2 Births Deaths Total population Time Births/Deaths per 1000 in population