Demographic transition in asia

Abstract

The demographic transition theory is a grand theory on population dynamics derived from general observations of demographic histories of the Western societies. According to the classical demographic transition theory population dynamics is brought about by economic and social development in general. Regarding the debate on this theory several issues should be mentioned for shedding light on Asian fertility transition. A debate has arisen on the base of a great deal of empirical research and it has been stated that the decline of fertility started at really different levels of development. The arguments of the strong role of the family planning programs and the availability of services by the state accelerating the pace of reproductive change, like for example, in Bangladesh (Robinson 2001, Cleland et al 1994) and the role of social development levels –notably educational levels and health patterns as reflected in life expectancy have also been cited as contributing to the transition in developing areas (Caldwell, 1982). To show the diversities of the degree of the demographic transition completed, a rough index of the transition process has been computed in tis article, using the formula proposed by Cho and Togashi(1984).