Final essay

Considering our studies of fertility and mortality can tell a lot about a country and its future. There are four stages in the Demographic Transition. But some people could argue that there are five stages. The Industrial Revolution and medical revolution played a big part in the different stages a country was in. To this day every country has gone through the Industrial Revolution therefore no country remains in stage 1.

 Stage two consists of a high growth rate and a death rate that is falling rapidly. The population rapidly increases. A country has to go through the Industrial Revolution which involves many major improvements with manufactured goods and delivering them to markets and stores. It also improved sanitation and health. Developing countries were forced into stage two after the medical revolution which is where medical technology invented in Europe and North America has diffused to developing countries. The many traditional causes of death have been eliminated because of new medical technology.  One country that relate to this description is Afghanistan. This country has 32.5 births per 1000 of the population and 13.2 deaths per 1000 of the population. This means the birth rate is high and the death rate is low so the population will have a very rapid increase. During the 1970 the World Health Organizations launched programs to immunize children in various countries.

The third stage contains a falling birth rate and a slowly falling death rate which causes the population to slow down because of changes in social and economic patterns. Families are encouraged to have less children. When countries have fewer children they enter this stage. The population in stage three are more likely to live in cities and work in offices, shops, and factories than to live in a rural area with farms. An example of this is the country Mexico. Their birth rate is 18.1 per 1000 of the population and the death rate is 5.4. In 1974, Mexico entered stage three after a constitutional amendment gave families the right to decide on the number of spacing of children.

The fourth stage is made up of low birth rates and low death rates which causes the population to be stable or have a slow increase.  Some females die before they reach their childbearing years. Which means the number in childbearing years can differ. Women in stage four countries rather enter the work force in larger numbers rather than stay home and be a house- wife. Denmark has a birth rate of 10.9 and a death rate of 9.3. These are so close that the population will be stable or grow just a small amount. Denmark has reached stage four because of the increasing percentage of elderly people.

Some western and northern European countries argue that there could be a stage five. Which would have very low birth rates and low death rates which would have a stable or slow decrease in the population.  Many factors have played a part in which stage a country is in. The different stages can show how advanced a country is