| Patterns/ Variables | Pattern I: Collecting food | Pattern II: Famine | Pattern III: Receding Famine | Pattern IV: Degenerative diseases | Pattern V: Behavioural Change |
| Mortality /fertility | High mortality and low fertility | High fertility and high infant and maternal mortality | Mortality declines faster, fertility declines slowly and population rises | Low mortality and fertility; and fertility below replacement | Low mortality and fertility-replacement level |
| Age structure | Natural balance | High infant dependency ratio | High young people dependency ratio | Elderly dependency ratio rises | High elderly population dependency ratio |
| Life expectancy | Low | Short life and life expectancy less than 55 years | Medium range of life-life expectancy under 60 years | Life expectancy 60 plus years; decreases under 15 population | Life-expectancy more than 70 years; long life |
| Residency | Low density of population | Dominance of rural settlements | Rural urban migration begins | Urban population disperses and emigration begins | Expansion of small low dense cities |