DTM - The Stages Outlined

DTM - The Stages Outlined

1. Stage 1

   • Birth Rate Extremely High
     • Birth rate is high due to no birth control (contraception) being used within the country. Education is also poor, and infant mortality is high, so couples have a lot of children so that more survive that can look after and work with them.
   • Death Rate also High
     • There is poor healthcare, along with sanitation and a poor diet, this raises the overall death rate, as it increases famine and disease. A lack of safe water is also evident in those countries within this stage.
   • Examples
     • There are no longer any countries existing with this stage of the DTM, only rainforest tribes and a few segregated areas within countries.
   • Population Pyramid
     • A very wide base and narrow top, with a low life expectancy and a small overall population, which is gradually increasing.

2. Stage 2

   • Birth Rate Remains High
     • There is still little family planning or education within the country, and a large family is still required to survive in theses countries. The main workforce is labour and the more there are to work for the family the more income the family will recieve.
   • Death Rate Falls
     •  The death rate falls due to an increase in healthcare and sanitation within the country. As the country begins to develop and the amount of medical care increases the death rate will decrease, resulting in an increased life expectancy, and fewer deaths at each stage within the population pyramid. Infant mortality is however still fairly high.
   • Population Pyramid
     • A narrower base compared to the previous pyramid and wider collumns than the precious pyramid as you go up (due to death rate decreasing).
   • Examples
     • Nepal and Afganistan and other underdeveloped countries are in this stage.
   • Population Increase
     • The population begins to drastically increase due to natural increase (the result of a dramatic decrease in death rates and a birth rate remaining high).

3. Stage 3

   • Birth Rates Rapid Decrease
     • Birth rates begin to gradually fall as contraception becomes more common, and education is more widely spread among the population. As the economy begins to develop, labouring farm jobs begin to become less common, as the country turns to manufacturing rather than agriculture (fewer children are needed to work so less are born). The women also begin to work now, reducing their childbearing years, and therefore decreasing the potential number of children that they can have. There is an increased desir for possessions rather than children.
   • Death Rate Gradual Decrease
     • The death rate continues to gradually decline.
   • Examples
     • Eqypt and India are in this stage
   • Population Pyramid
     • Age groups in the younger generations are gradually becoming equal in number (there is no drastic increase in the number of children overall anymore) the population is still increasing but at a slightly more gradual rate. Life expectancy is still increasing as death rate falls.
   • Population Increase
     • The population is still increasing but at a much more gradual rate now than it was previously, as the death rate still falls slowly and the birth rate decreases drastically.

4. Stage 4

   • Birth Rate Now Low
     • The birth rate is now very low and staying low, due to children now becoming an increasing expense to parents, making them less wanted. The cost of living is begnning to increase and people are more interested in possessions and luxury items now than children.
   • Death Rate Remains Low
     • Death rate remains as it has done for a while now (at a very low stage). Fluctuating slightly along with the level of the birth rate.
   • Examples
     • Most developed countried in the world are in this stage now, including the UK, Canada and the USA.
   • Population Stays Steady
   • Population Pyramid
     • The population pyramid for this stage is beginning to show flattened sides, and a gradually decreasing birth rate every now again (it fluctuates), life expectancy is still increasing as death rate also fluctuates.

5. Stage 5

   • Birth Rate Now Constant Low
     • Birth rate continues to gradually decline as the country becomes more and more industrialised. The cost of living continues to increase and children become less and less of an asset to a couple.
   • Death Rate Constant
     • The death rate remains steady and doesn't increase any further due to the large number of elderly people within the population dying despite medical advances.
   • Examples
     • Japan and Hungary are the only two countries currently in this stage, and since a stage 5 has only recently been created, there may in the future have to be a stage 6 added on or even more to account for the changes in the countries populations as they become more and more advanced.
   • Population Pyramid
     • The population pyramid is now a concave shape in the centre. Showing a very high working population, and gradually this will lead to the elderly dependant population increasing. The birth rate is now extremely low, eventually as the older age groups die the drop in population will (possibly) be dramatic.
   • Population
     • The population is now decreasing at a gradual rate due to still declining birth rates and steady constant death rates.