Demographic Transition - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages As the birth and death rates are identical in this phase therefore this phenomenon results in very slow population growth and the population remains almost stationary over the period of time. The high death rates at this stage are imputed to lack of knowledge about disease prevention and shortages of the food supply. Since in the days of yore, there was a lack of clean drinking water, scarcity of good food hygiene, and ineffective sanitary systems therefore it resulted in very high death rates. Diseases pertaining to water and food such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea were discerned as fatal diseases and they were common killers at those times. A handful of children survived their early stages of life. Similarly, high birth rates at those periods are ascribed to all the factors that are linked with high fertility. Since the death rates among the children remained high therefore mothers craved new children and there was no question as to the need for children even if the measures to control them had existed.
The second stage of demographic transition (beginning of industrialization) observes a rapid decline in the death rate while the birth rate remains at the same level. As a consequence of this, the gap between deaths and births grows wider which in turn increases the population of the country. The drastic decline in death is ascribed to different factors. Firstly, economies observe massive improvements in their food supply furnished by higher yields as farming processes are refined and improved. Such improvements include crop rotation, selective breeding, and seed drill technology (Montgomery 2005). Secondly, development in the country’s infrastructure improves the transportation system and hence it saves from death due to starvation. Finally, there are substantial improvements in the realm of public health. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More