Consider the following specific stages of demographic transition associated with economic development:
- 1.Low birthrate with low death rate
- 2.High birthrate with high death rate
- 3.High birthrate with low death rate
Select the correct order of the above using the codes given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 2, 3, 1
In the demographic transition model, a society starts with high birth and death rates. Death rates fall first, so births stay high while deaths are low. Finally, birth rates also fall, giving low birth and low death rates. The order is 2, 3, 1, which is option (c).
- ✓ 2. This is the first stage, with high fertility and high mortality. Epidemics and an uncertain food supply keep deaths high, and people have many children to make up for them. Population growth is slow.
- ✓ 3. This is the middle stage. Better sanitation and health care cut mortality, while fertility stays high at first and declines only over time. The gap between births and deaths makes the net addition to population large.
- ✓ 1. This is the last stage. Both fertility and mortality fall considerably, so population is stable or grows slowly. Society becomes urbanised and literate.
- ✗ (b) The order 2, 1, 3 puts low birth and death rates before the stage of high births and low deaths. In fact, the fall in death rates comes first and the fall in birth rates comes last.
- ✗ (d) The order 3, 2, 1 starts with low deaths and high births. A society cannot begin with low mortality before its health and sanitation have improved.
Remember · Demographic transition runs in three stages. Stage 1 has high birth and high death rates. Stage 2 has high birth and falling death rates. Stage 3 has low birth and low death rates.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 2 “The first stage has high fertility and high mortality because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 2 “In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
