Question

Explain the main characteristics of the third stage of ‘demographic transition theory’.

Hint:

• Third Stage = Late Expanding Stage.
• Birth Rate $\downarrow$ Declining rapidly.
• Death Rate $\rightarrow$ Remains low.
• Population Growth $\uparrow$ Continues, but at a slower rate.
• Major reasons: Urbanisation, education, women's empowerment, improved healthcare and family planning.
• India is generally considered to be in the Third Stage of the Demographic Transition Theory.

Answer 1

Concept:
• The Demographic Transition Theory explains how the population of a country changes with economic development and modernization.
• It describes the transition of a country from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through different stages.
• The Third Stage is known as the Late Expanding Stage.
• In this stage, the birth rate begins to decline rapidly, while the death rate remains low, resulting in a slower rate of population growth compared to the previous stage.

Step 1: Birth Rate
During the third stage, the birth rate declines significantly. This decline occurs due to several social and economic changes such as:
• Increased literacy and education.
• Improvement in the status of women.
• Urbanisation and industrialisation.
• Greater awareness of family planning methods.
• Preference for smaller families.
• Increased cost of raising and educating children. As a result, families voluntarily choose to have fewer children.

Step 2: Death Rate
The death rate remains very low during this stage. The low death rate is maintained because of continuous improvements in:
• Medical facilities.
• Public health services.
• Nutrition and food supply.
• Safe drinking water.
• Sanitation and hygiene.
• Better living standards. These developments increase life expectancy and reduce mortality.

Step 3: Population Growth
Since the birth rate starts declining while the death rate remains low, the population continues to grow but at a much slower rate than in Stage II. The gap between birth rate and death rate gradually becomes smaller, causing the natural increase in population to decline.

Step 4: Socio-economic Characteristics
Countries in the third stage generally experience rapid economic development and social transformation. Important characteristics include:
• High level of urbanisation.
• Expansion of industries and service sector.
• Higher literacy rate.
• Better employment opportunities.
• Improved standard of living.
• Increased participation of women in education and workforce.
• Widespread use of contraceptives and family welfare programmes. These factors collectively contribute to the decline in fertility.

Step 5: Examples
Many developing countries such as India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa are considered to be in the third stage of demographic transition. These countries have experienced a considerable decline in birth rates while maintaining low death rates due to improvements in healthcare and economic development. Answer: The main characteristics of the Third Stage (Late Expanding Stage) of the Demographic Transition Theory are:
• Birth rate declines rapidly.
• Death rate remains low.
• Population continues to increase but at a slower rate.
• Natural growth rate decreases because the gap between birth rate and death rate becomes smaller.
• Urbanisation, industrialisation, education, improved healthcare, higher standard of living and family planning contribute to declining fertility.