Final answer:
The Demographic Transition Model describes how countries transition from high to low birth and death rates as they industrialize and develop. It outlines this change in four to five stages, reflecting shifts in health care, urbanization, and economic growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
What is the Demographic Transition Model?
The model that traces the changing levels of human fertility and mortality through time as societies become more industrialized is called the Demographic Transition Model (DTM). The DTM is a theoretical model that describes how countries move from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through various stages of economic development. Initially, both birth rates and death rates are high. As a society starts to industrialize, death rates drop due to improvements in healthcare and sanitation. Then, as the country becomes more developed and urbanized, birth rates also decline.
This transition occurs in stages, commonly outlined as follows:
Pre-industrial stage: High birth and death rates.
Early industrial stage: Death rates fall while birth rates remain high.
Late industrial stage: Birth rates begin to decline.
Post-industrial stage: Birth rates and death rates are both low.
The DTM is based on historical population trends and has been expanded to include a possible fifth stage involving an aging population and potentially increasing death rates due to an imbalance in the age structure.
In summary, the Demographic Transition Model is crucial in understanding the evolution of population dynamics in correlation to human development and industrialization.