As a country develops from preindustrial to postindustrial, birth rates tend to ...

As a country develops from preindustrial to postindustrial, birth rates tend to ...

• A. Increase with more economic activity
• B. Stay low from the start
• C. Remain high and then drop late
• D. Decline after an initial period of high births as development progresses

Answer: (D)

This question is about how fertility changes as a country develops, a pattern described by the demographic transition. In the early, preindustrial stage, birth rates are high along with death rates. As development begins, death rates fall first due to better health, food, and sanitation, so population grows even while births remain high. Later, birth rates start to decline because of factors like urbanization, higher costs of raising children, more schooling and employment opportunities for women, and better access to contraception, plus improved child survival reduces the perceived need for large families. As development continues into the postindustrial stage, births settle at a low level. So the best description is that birth rates decline after an initial period of high births as development progresses.

This question is about how fertility changes as a country develops, a pattern described by the demographic transition. In the early, preindustrial stage, birth rates are high along with death rates. As development begins, death rates fall first due to better health, food, and sanitation, so population grows even while births remain high. Later, birth rates start to decline because of factors like urbanization, higher costs of raising children, more schooling and employment opportunities for women, and better access to contraception, plus improved child survival reduces the perceived need for large families. As development continues into the postindustrial stage, births settle at a low level. So the best description is that birth rates decline after an initial period of high births as development progresses.