Demographic Transitions

Demographic Transitions and its phases

Demographic transition is the term used for the changes a population experiences over a long period time. These changes are measured by the birth rates and the death rates of the population. The theory of demographic transition indicates that all populations must go through the three original phases before there are low, stable birth and death rates, and the population sustains a sustainable growth.

The four phases of demographic transition are:

1. High Fluctuating
1. During this phase, there are high death rates and high birth rates. Usually, there is little or no access to birth control, and people tend to have more children in order to make sure that there are descendants that will live long enough to procreate and take care of the elderly. In the first phase, the population can be either constantly fluctuating or consistently declining. The high birth rates usually compensate for the high death rates, however, if a serious epidemic affects the population, a great loss is expected because these populations tend to have poor healthcare.
   
   
   
2. Early Expansion
1. In the second stage of transition, death rates start to decline due to advancement in medicine and available healthcare for the ill and elderly, and also because of different lifestyles. This means that the population is experiencing growth
   
   
3. Late Expansion
1. During the third phase of the demographic transition, the population is stable. Demographers state that contraception begins to become widely available and this in turn helps lower the birth rates. Also, the population’s lifestyle has changed. With the decreasing death rate, people foresee that they will have a longer life and tend to post-pone starting a family, and even then, they no longer have numerous children.
   
   
4. Low Fluctuation
1. In the last stage, the population is either stable or slightly growing. This happens because the death rate is becoming a steady percentage and people understand that there is no need for large families, as in the past.

Overall, the living conditions tend to improve as the population advances in the demographical transitions. In the early demographic transition phases, people are often very ill, lead unhealthy lives and have a short life expectancy. They tend to have many children in order to make sure there are enough hands to cultivate lands and care for elders and children lead a poor quality lifestyle. However, with the increase in the life span, populations begin to work differently. Mature people start taking care of the family, and providing for all members, elders are able to care for themselves longer, children are able to grow and acquire knowledge prior to experiencing hardships and are much more healthy. This is because people are able to live longer lives and are more conscientious of their health. As a population, people tend to advance more technologically, and are able to expand into larger communities. Also, this impacts the environment as well. Because people are living longer, there is a larger amount of people alive at the same time. This affects the environment in a negative way because it can lead to a depletion of natural resources, deforestation in order to make lands for crops and living areas, and also because there is an overall higher density in all of earth’s populations: more cattle is needed to feed more people, more grains need to be cultivated in order to feed more cattle, and so forth. However, if a plan is developed to make sure the population grows at a sustainable rate and makes sure that the natural resources available are used in a conscientious manner that promotes an overall balance of all species, this phase of the demographic transitions is the most beneficial.

References

Montgomery, K. (n.d.). The Demographic Transition. In Department of Geography &
geology Resources. Retrieved May 24, 2009, from http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/
geography/Demotrans/demtran.htm

Barcelona Field Studies Centre S.L. (2009). The Demographic Transition Model. In
Geography Field Work of the Barcelona Field Studies Centre. Retrieved
May 24, 2009, from http://geographyfieldwork.com/DemographicTransition.htm