Question

The first stage of demographic transition is characterised by __________ birth rates and __________ death rates.
A) Low, low
B) High, low
C) Low, high
D) High, high

Answer 1

Hint: Demographic dividend happens when a country goes through a phase of the demographic transition from a rural agricultural economy having high fertility rates to a modern urban economy having lower fertility and mortality rates.

Complete answer:
Demographic transition happens through four main stages. In the first stage, both the birth and death rates are high. The high birth rate is due to common early marriages, illiteracy, and the absence of knowledge of different methods of family planning. Death rates are high because there is no proper diet and not enough medical or sanitation facilities.

In the second stage, there is regular food supply, better law and order measures, better medical facilities, development of vaccines and immunisation programmes. This made the population healthier and reduced the percentage of disease and death. In this stage, the birth rate is still very high. This results in a population explosion.

In the third stage, there is a transition of the economy from an agricultural structure to an industrialised one. In this stage, people become more concerned about the size of the family and practice family planning methods. People started increasing the age of marriage and reducing the number of children.

In the fourth stage, both the birth and death rates go down. This leads to a stationary population. It is very little to no growth in population. High levels of economic development and standards of living are secured in this stage. The population becomes stable at a low rate.

Both birth and death rates are low in the fourth stage. The birth rate is high and the death rate is low in the second stage. There is no stage with a low birth rate and high death rate.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘’D’.

Note: Demographic transition is a theory and phenomenon. It explains the historical transition from a society with high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates. Even though the shift has been observed in many industrialised countries, the theory is inaccurate when applied to individual countries due to a variety of reasons. The demographic transition theory is an explanation of demographic history. It was developed in 1929 by Warren Thompson, an American demographer. The demographic transition in India started between the late 1920s and early 1930s.