Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of the first stage o…

The correct answer is Option (2) → Sanitation and health conditions are improved

Option (1) Life expectancy is low — A feature of the first stage (Incorrect). Epidemics, a variable food supply and poor health care keep the death rate high. Many people die young, so the average life expectancy stays low.

Option (2) Sanitation and health conditions are improved — Not a feature of the first stage (Correct). It belongs to the second stage. Better sanitation and health care stop many deaths from disease, so improvements in sanitation and health conditions lead to decline in mortality. Births stay high for some time, so the gap between births and deaths widens and the population grows fast — the very change that ends the first stage.

Option (3) Growth of population is slow — A feature of the first stage (Incorrect). People have many children to make up for the deaths from epidemics and an uncertain food supply. High births are cancelled out by high deaths, so the numbers added each year stay small and the population growth is slow.

Option (4) Rate of illiteracy is high — A feature of the first stage (Incorrect). People in this stage are mostly illiterate farmers with low levels of technology, for whom large families are an asset in the fields. Without education, families stay large and little is known of health care, which keeps both births and deaths high.