A country rapidly reduces mortality through vaccination programmes, better sanitation, and improved nutrition, but birth rates remain high for several decades. Which stage of demographic transition is this country most likely experiencing?

Transitional stage

The correct answer is Option 2: Transitional stage

The transitional stage is marked by a sharp decline in death rates due to advances in disease control, public health, and nutrition, while birth rates remain high. This creates a large gap between birth and death rates and leads to rapid population growth.

NCERT: "Another significant theory in demography is the theory of demographic transition. This suggests that population growth is linked to overall levels of economic development and that every society follows a typical pattern of development-related population growth. There are three basic stages of population growth. The first stage is that of low population growth in a society that is underdeveloped and technologically backward. Growth rates are low because both the death rate and the birth rate are very high, so that the difference between the two (or the net growth rate) is low. The third (and last) stage is also one of low growth in a developed society where both death rate and birth rate have been reduced considerably and the difference between them is again small. Between these two stages is a transitional stage of movement from a backward to an advanced stage, and this stage is characterised by very high rates of growth of population. This ‘population explosion’ happens because death rates are brought down relatively quickly through advanced methods of disease control, public health, and better nutrition.... "