Given below are two statements:
Statement I: A society where both the birth rate and the death rate are very high can have a low growth rate of population.
Statement II: The growth rate of population refers to the difference between the birth rate and the infant mortality rate.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
Statement I: A society where both the birth rate and the death rate are very high can have a low growth rate of population. — Correct. This is the first stage of the theory of demographic transition. Both rates are very high, so the gap between them, the net growth rate, stays small and growth is low.
Statement II: The growth rate of population refers to the difference between the birth rate and the infant mortality rate. — Incorrect. The growth rate of population is the birth rate minus the death rate. The infant mortality rate counts only deaths of babies, so it cannot stand in for all deaths.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Theory of Demographic Transition … “The rate of natural increase or the growth rate of population refers to the difference between the birth rate and the death rate. …” |