GERMAN POPULATION

Grey River Argus, 21 April 1911, Page 1

GERMAN POPULATION

A LARGE INCREASE

FROM" THE 'YAK OUS STATES COMPARED.

The German Consul at Auckland supplies some interesting- statistics deafingr with the growth of population -in Germany and its various States during th~e past quinquennial period. Between 1905 and 1910 the total population- of Germany increased from 60,640,000 to 64,896,000. This increase of- over 4,000,000 in five years represents the- average for the previous five- years as well, and the figures supplied for the various States show that this increase has not been confined to ■ one portion of TEe country,, but is general all over Germany. Thus, between* 1905 and 1910 we find that, the population of Prussia rose from 37,300,000 to 40,150,000 increasing by nearly 3,000,000. In Bavaria the increase was 350,000, in Wurtemberg 100,000; in Saxony 300,---000, in .Baden 130,0000, and in the Hamburg, district 14*5,000.

It is clear that whatever be tfie matter with, the birthrate .in other countries, Germany has little reason to complain about her population stat

tistics, :and the bearing of this fact upon the future development of the German Empire is undeniably important. Those who are accustomed to deplore . the comparatively, low 'birthrate . here, and to look enviously at tRe German record, may find some consolation in bur own vital statictics, for., as. our official year book points out, athough the Birth-rate in New Zealand ■is low as ; .compared with that of some European countries, the general death-rate and also the mortality among infants, is the lowest •recorded , for any country in the world. The net result is that while the ; " average natural rate of increase" (including deaths with births) for Germany between 1902 and 1906 was about 14.5 per, 1000 of the population, the rate of increase for New Zealand between 1905 and 1909 was about 17^6 per .1000. The two periods do not precisely correspond, but they are close enough to justify the inference that while our birth-rate is not so high as Germany's the con-! ditions of life are so favourable here that a far larger proportion of our children grow to maturity, and that the natural rate of increase here is thus at least as rapid as in the most f voiired countries in the old world.