Demographic Transitions

Abstract

The demographic trends of the past 150 years have been sustainably influenced by two demographic transitions. Demographic transformations represent periods of interruption in the constant course of demographic development, during which time the way the reproduction of the population takes place changes significantly. Two periods of demographic transformation can be established that came about around 1900 (first demographic transition) and after the Second World War (Europe’s second demographic transition). The first demographic transformation was marked by the transition from a pre-industrial to an industrial society. The second transition was primarily based on a profound cultural change. Both periods of transformation show a considerable decline in birth rates, but also have specific characteristics. One of the striking features of the second demographic transition is that it is exclusively marked by a sharp decline in the birth rate. The first decline in the birth rate showed both a drop in birth and mortality levels. Other examples of demographic change are the changes in population reproduction experienced in the former socialist countries as a direct consequence of the transformation of society.