Which of the following situations best represents the first stage of…

The correct answer is Option 2: High birth rate and high death rate resulting in low population growth

The first stage of demographic transition is associated with underdeveloped and technologically backward societies. Both birth rates and death rates are very high, so the difference between them remains small, leading to low 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.  ".