<P> This occurs where birth and death rates are both low, leading to a total population stable . Death rates are low for a number of reasons, primarily lower rates of diseases and higher production of food . The birth rate is low because people have more opportunities to choose if they want children; this is made possible by improvements in contraception or women gaining more independence and work opportunities . The DTM is only a suggestion about the future population levels of a country, not a prediction . </P> <P> Countries that are at this stage (2 <Total Fertility Rate <2.5 in 2015) include: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cabo Verde, El Salvador, Faroe Islands, Grenada, Guam, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Palau, Peru, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tunisia, Turkey and Venezuela . </P> <P> The original Demographic Transition model has just four stages, but additional stages have been proposed . Both more - fertile and less - fertile futures have been claimed as a Stage Five . </P> <P> Some countries have sub-replacement fertility (that is, below 2.1--2.2 children per woman). Replacement fertility is typically 2.1--2.2 because this replaces the two parents and boys are born more often than girls (somewhat 1.05--1.1 to 1) and adds population to compensate for deaths (i.e. members of the population who die without full reproducing, for example, in the age of 30--35, giving a birth just to one baby) with approx . 0.1 additional . Many European and East Asian countries now have higher death rates than birth rates . Population aging and population decline may eventually occur, assuming that the fertility rate does not change and sustained mass immigration does not occur . </P>

In the chart below which represents the four stages of demographic transition