Economic Development · 4 question types
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 8% of your exam marks.
Population structure, birth/death rates, and the economic consequences of changing population appear in Section B roughly every other paper; typically 6 to 8 marks.
For exam purposes, the demographic transition model explains why birth and death rates change as a country develops. It has four stages.
| Stage | Birth rate | Death rate | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (pre-industrial) | High | High | Very slow |
| 2 (early development) | High | Falling fast | Rapid |
| 3 (late development) | Falling | Low | Slowing |
| 4 (developed) | Low | Low | Stable or slightly falling |
Most poor countries today are in stage 2 or 3; most rich countries are in stage 4, which is where ageing-population concerns arise. A "stage 5" with very low birth rates leading to a shrinking population is sometimes proposed for countries like Japan and South Korea.