Explaining stages at DTM

Question 1

STAGE 2:

Answer 1

DR falls rapidly. This is due to better availability of food so more people survive rather than die of starvation. Medicine and health care is improving, helping to keep people alive so life expectancy increases.

BR remains high as people continue to have children believing some of them will die. Also, culturally, there is a desire for more children. Children are needed to work on the land as this is generally an agrarian (agriculture) society with subsistence farming.

Question 2

STAGE 3 =

Answer 2

DR continues to fall but more slowly and evens out. Better medicine and health care help to keep people alive for longer = life expectancy increases

BR falls rapidly. As a country becomes more industrialised, people move ‘from farms to factories’ and are too busy to have children.
in urban areas there is less space for children, and less need for them to work on the land.

Contraception is more available and women become more educated and start to have a say in what happens to them during their lives. This includes getting an education, focusing more on a career rather than children and marrying later.

Question 3

STAGE 4 =

Answer 3

DR are low and drop only slightly as DR reaches its lowest level for a country. There are higher living standards and less in extreme poverty so more can afford health care.

BR fall more slowly and drop to a level just above DR. Women are more educated, pursuing careers and marry later so have fewer children – TFR falls to below replacement level (<2.1).

Question 4

STAGE 5 =

Answer 4

A country’s BR falls below DR. Total population starts to decline = natural decrease. The country has an ageing population. The negative population growth rate is not an immediate effect however. Based on demographic momentum, in which total population growth increases even while birth rates decline, it will take a generation or two before a negative population growth rate is observed.

Question 5

Name a country at each stage of the DTM

Answer 5

Stage 2 - Niger, Chad, Afghanistan, Yemen

Stage 3 - Mexico, Thailand, Kenya, South Africa, India

Stage 4 - USA, Australia, UK,

Stage 5 - Italy, Japan, Russia, Germany

Question 6

• What problems may a country at Stage 5 experience?

Answer 6

Low BR and high life expectancy see less children being born. This may see redundancies in childcare and schools in future.

Economy may decline as less people of working age (economically active).
More elderly that need looking after and aged care facilities.

Question 7

How could the country respond to the problems or issues?

Answer 7

They could encourage people to have babies by offering incentives = this is a pro-natal policy – they could offer financial incentives, such as a baby bonus (like Australian government did during the last decade) or could offer tax deductions or free schooling, etc.

Or, they could encourage immigration to fill the skills/employment gaps.
Encourage skilled migrants from overseas to come and live and work in the country.
by offering financial packages to entice them, or visas to make their move swifter.