The Post-demographic Transition in East and South East Asia: Similarities and Contrasts with Europe

During the past 15 years spectacular changes in demographic behaviour have occurred in parts of east and south-east Asia. In this paper these changes are examined and contrasted with those that have taken place in parts of Europe at the corresponding period. Although it was to be expected that the Asian transitions would have been much shorter than in Europe, it is surprising that the transition in Asian countries has in many respects caught up with and even overtaken that in the European countries where it occurred much earlier.