POPULATION OF THE WORLD.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1338, 27 January 1881, Page 2

POPULA TION OF THE WORLD.

Tjik Melbourne Argus sayt, : — A. ■wellknown (ievinin statistical work, entitled " Tnc Population of tins Earth," reached Victoria by a recent mail. Its compilers, Dr. Bohm and Professor Wagner, are geographers of gieat eminence, and their work is goneially recognised as the most Auttvoiit.vtive cm the subject to which it relates. This work, which is vevy valuable fiom a scientific point of view, makes its appearance at intervals of about eighteen months or t\vo years, and the present is its sixth issue. Since its fifth issue, rather more than eighteen months ago, groat changes have taken place in the population of the world, and, as we are on the eve of a great census period, more interest will be attached to this subject than formerly. Next year there is to be a numbering of the people in the Australasian colonies, in Great Britain and Ireland, in the Uuited States of America, in Austria, in Germany, and some oth,er * countries, and the result is anxiously looked forward to by many. Messrs Behm and Wagner's account of the population of the world, according to the most recent data, is as follows : —

Now, if the period of nineteen months intervening between the date of Messrs. Behn and Wagner's former and present publication gives an increase of 16,778,200, which is at the rate of 883,06 a per month, or of 29,43-5 a day, and if the population goes on increasing at that rate, what is the world to come to ? Supposing that rate of increase to be kept up, the population of ike -vrorlc!. woulcl tare <3Louklecl Itself, or very nearly so, before the end of the next century, and, with its present potentialites, who would undertake to say that that will not be the case ? Great Britain, France, Norway and Sweden, . Denmark, Greece, and the United States of America, were the only countries in the world that once had a regular and official census of their populations until 1853, and we have, therefore, only very limited data for estimating the rate of increase/ Bdi as" the -talritifr of a census is now regarded as a.test ,of advancing civilisation, tb.6 collection of national statistics will become more and syatematid, and we, shall have better .opportunities of ascertaining the population of the world. Of course, there are other and more important purposes to .which the colledtion national 1 statistics' may be turned^ but, thos^ are quite distinct from wh,at Veha,ve now been considering.

Europe 315.929,000 A3ia 834,707,000 Africa 205,679,000 America 95,495,500 Australia & Polynesia . 4,031,000 Polar Regions ... 82,000 The world 1,455,923,500