Free Essay About Demographic Transition – Human Population

Introduction

Demographics is the study of “size, status, and behaviour of populations” according to Tarsi & Tuff (2012). Basically, it is comprised of statistics of the population. For example, how many females and how many males, how wide are the age range, the country’s birth rate, and/or the country’s death rate. Population demographics lead to the production of the Demographic Transition Model (Grover, 2014). The purpose of this model is to be able to further understand the trends on birth rate and death rate that exist in a particular country.

The Demographic Transition Model; Its Stages

The Demographic Transition Model considers birth rate and death rate as its variables. The model scrutinizes the relationship between/among the variables, birth rate & death rate and their impacts on the economy (M.U.S.E., 2013). Birth rate is characterized as the number of births per annum per thousand people; and death rate is the number of deaths per annum per thousand people (Grover, 2014). Much like a ripple, changes in these variables impacts the entirety of the population and its indicators such as trade, food security, water and sanitation, urbanization and/or modernization.
The model currently has four stages. These stages help studies determine where developing or developed countries lie. According to the Barcelona Field Studies Centre (2015), these are the following stages that consists the Demographic Transition Model:
Stage 1 (High Fluctuating) illustrates high birth rates and high death rates which implies that the population growth is gradual and unpredictable. On one hand, reasons for high birth rate include poor birth control, need for helpers in agricultural lands, and religious beliefs. On the other, reasons for high death rate include polluted water resources, poor sanitation, little or no access to health care.
Stage 2 (Early Expanding). This stage is characterized by high birth rate and low death rate. There is a steady increase in population growth. This could mean that improvements in health care, hygiene, food security have started to materialize.
Stage 3 (Late Expanding). This stage is the decrease of both birth rate and death rate. This stage implies that the population growth is increasing, and that there is significant improvement in health care, family planning, industries, and gender equality.
Stage 4 (Low Fluctuating). This stage shows the numbers for birth rate and death rate are both low. The population growth has reached its plateau and is steady. Developed countries such as USA, Britain, Japan, and Sweden fall under this stage.
However, it must be taken into consideration that the use of models has certain limitations. As for the limitations of the Demographic Transition Model, these include: outliers, migration and prediction on the duration a country will stay in a stage are also not included.

Developing vs. Developed: A Comparison between India and Canada

Generally, developed countries have better health, education, security, and economic factors. As for the countries India and Canada, the previous statement holds true. Even though India belongs to the earliest civilizations on Earth, one cannot help but notice their poverty-stricken polluted roads, poor water resources and sanitation, and poor access to health care. Both birth rate and death rate are high, which describes Stage 1 from the Demographic Transition Model. Whereas in Canada, although the prevalent issue on pollution still exists, the citizens have access to clean and disposable water and good sanitation (e.g. sewer lines). Canadians are also insured; they have access to cheap, if not free, health care subsidized by the government.

Reference

Barcelona Field Studies Centre. (2015). Demographic Transition Model. Retrieved from http://geographyfieldwork.com/DemographicTransition.htm.
Grover, D. (2014). What is the Demographic Transition Model. Population Education. Retrieved from https://www.populationeducation.org/content/what-demographic-transition-model.
M.U.S.E. (2013).Human Population Growth and Phases. Retrieved from https://class.aiu-online.com/_layouts/MUSEViewer/Asset.aspx?MID=410591&aid=410614.