Before ______, India was in the first stage of demographic transition. 

Key Points

• Before 1921, India was in the first stage of demographic transition.
• The first stage of demographic transition is characterized by high birth rates and high death rates, which result in a relatively stable population.
• In 1921, India experienced a significant demographic shift known as the "Year of the Great Divide," where the population growth rate started to increase due to a decline in death rates while birth rates remained high.
• This shift marked the transition from the first stage to the second stage of demographic transition, where the population begins to grow rapidly.
• The demographic transition model explains the transformation of countries from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as part of the economic development process.

Additional Information

• The demographic transition model is divided into four stages: the pre-industrial stage, the transitional stage, the industrial stage, and the post-industrial stage.
• During the transitional stage, improvements in healthcare, sanitation, and food supply lead to a decline in death rates.
• The decline in death rates without a corresponding decline in birth rates results in rapid population growth during the second stage.
• As countries continue to develop, they eventually reach the third stage, where birth rates begin to decline, leading to a slower rate of population growth.
• In the final stage, both birth and death rates are low, stabilizing the population size.