The Demographic Transition

Demographic Transition= a four stage conceptualization that tracks changes in birth rates through time as a population urbanizes. Stage 1 is characterized by high birth rates, leading to a very slow rate of natural increase. In stage 2, death rates fall dramatically while birth rates remain high, producing a rapid rise in the RNI. Even as death rates fall, it takes time for people to respond with lower birth rates, which begin in stage 3. Then in the transitional stage, people apparently become aware of the advantages of smaller families in urban and industrial settings. In stage 4, a very low RNI results from a combination of lower birthrates and very low death rates. As a result, there is very little natural population increase.