Write short notes on the following (any three): Correlation between birth rate and death rate

Answer: Population growth depends on the difference between birth rate and death rate.

• Birth rate is the number of live births per 1000 people in a year; death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 people in a year.
• Natural growth rate = birth rate – death rate. If birth rate is higher, population increases; if both are equal, population is stable; if death rate is higher, population declines.
• The demographic transition theory explains this correlation: Stage 1 – high birth and high death rate (slow growth); Stage 2 – high birth rate, falling death rate (population explosion); Stage 3 – falling birth rate, low death rate (growth slows); Stage 4 – low birth and low death rate (stable population).
• Death rate falls first due to medical facilities, while birth rate falls later with education, urbanisation and family planning.
• Developed countries like Japan have low birth and death rates; developing countries like India have moderate birth rate and low death rate.