Difference Between Birth Rate and Death Rate (with Example)

Birth Rate, as the name suggests, is the number of babies born every year per thousand people in a specific area. As against, death rate implies the number of deaths occurring every year per thousand people in the population in a geographic area.

Generally, demographic indicators are classified into population statistics and vital statistics. While, the population statistics include the size of the population, sex ratio, density, and dependency ratio. Vital statistics include birth rate, death rate, natural growth rate, life expectancy at birth, mortality rate, and fertility rate.

In this post, we will explore the differences between birth rate and death rate. So, let’s begin.

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison	Birth Rate	Death Rate
Meaning	Birth Rate refers to the number of live babies born in a year per thousand people in the total population in a particular region in a given amount of time.	Death Rate is the ratio of total deaths to total population in a particular region or area over a specified period of time.
Control	Birth Rate can be controlled by proper family planning.	The death rate can be controlled by proper medical care.
Growth in population	If the birth rate exceeds the death rate, the result would be positive growth in population.	If the death rate exceeds the birth rate, the result would be negative growth in population.
Effect on population	Increases population size and density	Decreases population size and density

What is Birth Rate?

Birth Rate a rate that is based on the number of live human births per thousand in a population in a particular region for a specific period. Here, live birth means when the foetus leaves the mother’s body displaying signs of life such as heartbeat, pulsation of the umbilical cord, etc. Alternatively, it is called Natality.

To obtain the total number of live human births, the use of these three techniques takes place:

Universal Registration System of Births
Population counts from the census
Estimation by way of specialized demographic techniques

It is among the three main components used to calculate population growth. The other two are migration rate and mortality.

Meaning of Standardized Birth Rate

The expression of birth rate on the basis of age group is called standardized birth rate.

Meaning of Crude Birth Rate (CDR)

CDR total number of live births in a community per thousand average yearly population. So, it is the ratio of the given number of people in the population during a particular period of time and the number of live births occurring in the population in the same period.

Do you know?

In the last four decades, the birth rate in India has declined sharply from 36.9% in 1971 to 20.8% in 2018. This is possible only by narrowing the difference between rural and urban areas. However, this rate is still higher in the rural areas.

Example

Suppose 65 people are born per year per 1000 individuals; the birth rate is 65, which is expressed as a percentage, i.e. 6.5%.

Also Read: Difference Between Economic Growth and Economic Development

What is the Death Rate?

Death Rate is the ratio of incidence of deaths per thousand people in a population of a particular geographical area during a given span of time. The alternative term for death rate is mortality rate or fatality rate. Death Rate is the total number of deaths per thousand individuals per year.

It can be calculated for any category of people in the population, like Sex-specific or Occupation-specific death rates. Moreover, it can also be computed for specific causes like death rate from stroke or ischemic heart disease.

Here, death means a situation when a living being permanently disappeared, i.e., he shows no sign of life.

Meaning of Crude Death Rate or CDR

Division of the total number of deaths in the population by average population is called the CDR. It is the easiest and highly used measure of mortality.

Do you know?

In the last four decades, there has been a drastic fall in the death rate in India, from 14.9% in 1971 to 6.2% in 2018. Furthermore, the fall in the death rate is steeper in rural areas.

Example

Suppose 55 people died in a population of 1000, so the mortality rate would be 55, which can be expressed as a percentage, i.e. 5.5%.

Also Read: Difference Between National Income and Per Capita Income

Key Differences Between Birth Rate and Death Rate

Birth Rate is the rate of births of new live babies during a specified period, per thousand, in total population in a geographical area, in a specific amount of time. In contrast, the Death Rate is the rate of deaths per thousand people in the population for any reason during a year in a geographical area.
When the death rate increases, the population size and density decreases. You might have seen this situation during Covid times. During that time, the death rate in most countries increased, leading to a decrease in population size. As against, when the birth rate increases, so does the population size and density, because there will be more living beings in that area.
Among various methods of controlling the birth rate, family planning and increasing awareness among people are the most important. Conversely, to control the death rate, proper medical care and investment in the healthcare sector are required.
Positive growth in population occurs when the birth rate exceeds the death rate. However, negative growth in population occurs when the death rate increases the birth rate.

Important facts

When the birth rate is greater than the death rate, that is called a natural population increase or growth rate. This implies that there are more births than deaths in a year. It is expressed in percentage terms. However, when the death rate is greater in comparison to the birth rate, it is called a natural decrease in population. This implies that there are more births than deaths in a year.

When the difference between the birth rate and the death rate is zero, then it is assumed that the population has stabilised or a replacement level is reached. This is the rate of growth which is necessary for the new generation to replace the older one.