Human population growth has increased dramatically over the past 500 years due to improvements in agriculture, food supply, sanitation, healthcare, and medicine. Thomas Malthus predicted that human population would not be able to grow exponentially and would be limited by factors like famine, disease, and war. Demography is the scientific study of human populations and examines factors that affect population change over time such as birth rates, death rates, and age structure. Demographic transition refers to the dramatic change some countries have experienced from high birth and death rates to low death rates and completion occurs when birth rates fall to match death rates, stopping population growth. Population age structures show the number of people in different age/gender groups and can predict future growth trends