Done by: Megan Smith

Demographic transition (DT) shows the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre- industrial to an industrialized economy.birthdeath rates This transition is represented on THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL. It is divided into 4 stages, The first being the most primitive and fourth as being the most developed even though there may be a fifth stage.

 Stage one of the demographic transition model is the most primitive of the stages where there is a high fluctuating birth and death rate.  Because of this there is no great population growth. These countries or even tribes have very basic living standards such as those in the Amazon rainforest where they hardly have any education, medicaments or birth rates such that population is based on food supply, health of tribe members etc.  Other factors involved are no family planning or because of the faith of the people which may look at large families as a sign of carrying on a family tree.

 Birth rates and death rate hovered around 35 per  Birth rates were generally a little higher resulting in a slow natural increase (change in population as a result of birth rates and death rates)  While birth rate was relatively stable death rate varied considerably at times  For example the epidemic of bubonic plague, also known as Black Death killed almost a third of the population. Also The bubonic plagues of 1603, 1625,and 1665 referred to as the Great plague followed.  There was an increase in mortality between 1720 and 1740 due to the availability of cheap gin which took a considerable toll on the working class.

 In this stage of the demographic transition model there are a lot of births.  However, the death rate has gone down to about 20/1000 infants who die.  This results in a rise in population due to the fact that more infants are surviving.  Reasons for which more people may be surviving may be; -- better health care, -- improved sanitation such as water etc, -- more transport and medical care as well as inventions  In other words this stage involves a slight modernization in health care, raising people's living standards as well as there life expectancy.

 From 1760 England witnessed a period of rapid urbanization.  Factory owners soon realized that an unhealthy workforce had a huge impact on efficiency. This alerted both public officials and factory owners to the urgent need for improvements in public health.  The provision of clean piped water and the installation of sewage systems, allied to better personal and domestic cleanliness. As a result the incidence of the diarrheal diseases fell rapidly.  There were greater employment opportunities  Contemporary studies in developing countries show a strong relationship between infant nutrition and infant mortality ( number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1000 population in a given year)  Infant mortality fell from 200 per 1000 in 1770 to just over 100 per 1000 in Better nutrition played a substantial role in this decline.

 A combination of better nutrition and the general improvements in health brought about by legislation such as the Public Health Acts of 1848 and 1869 diminished the common infectious diseases. For example, Scarlet fever, which caused many deaths in the eighteenth century, had a much reduced impact in the following century.  The final factor to be considered in stage two is the role of medicine.  Although some important milestones were reached such as Edward Jenner’s discovery of a vaccination against smallpox in 1980, there was no widespread diffusion of medical benefits.  Of all the drugs available in 1850, fewer than ten had a specific action, so their impact on mortality was negligible.  Surgery was more advanced and anasthesia was unavailable until the last years of the century.

 Stage three is the stage at which there is already a low death rate as well as a declining birth rate therefore leading to a slight increase in population.  The reason for the fall in births may be due to -- family planning, -- better education, -- lower infant mortality rate, -- a more industrialised way of life and the want for more material possessions -- as well as women being able to go out to work.  In other words these countries are in the final stages of becoming like the western countries such as the states and those in Europe.

 After 1875 the continued decline of the death rate was accompanied by a marked downturn in the birth rate.  Medical science began to play an important role in controlling mortality and doctors were doctors were now able to offer potent, specifically effective drugs.  From about 1906 increasing attention was paid to maternity and child welfare, school and public health and there were further gains in nutrition.  From the late 1870’s onwards, cheap American corn were imported in large quantities, along with refrigerated meat and fruit from Australia and New Zealand.

 The beginning of the decline in fertility coincided with, and was probably partly the result of the widespread publicity which attended the trial of Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant.  In 1877 Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant decided to publish The Fruits of Philosophy, written by Charles Knowlton, a book that advocated birth controlAnnie Besant The Fruits of PhilosophyCharles Knowlton  These two social reformers were prosecuted for publishing a book which gave contraceptive advice.  However, perhaps the most important factor was the desire for a small family now that people were sure that the decline in mortality was permanent. Also the cost of raising children or a family was higher in urban areas compared to rural areas, (where hardly anyone settled.)

 There is a stable population with out much change because both the death and birth rate are low and in some cases there are more deaths than births therefore leading to a possible stage five.

 Family size varied by social group with the upper and professional middle classes leading the way in contraception  The birth rate which had been 30.5 per 1000 in 1890 fell to 25 per 1000 in 1910 down to 17  By 1930 the birth rate was down to 17 per 1000 at which time it is reasonable to say that England was entering the final stage of the Demographic Transition model.  By 1940 the birth rate had fallen further to 14.5 per this was however influenced by the outbreak of war the previous year.  The high death rate figures in the three decades following the end of the second World War are generally accounted for by the phenomenon know n as the ‘post war BABY BOOM’.  By 1980 the birth rate was down again to 14 per 1000, remaining close to that figure ever since.  The introduction of the oral contraceptive pills in 1960 and improvements in other forms of contraception meant that the relationship between desired family size and achieved family size had never been stronger.