Census of the British empire, 1901. : Report with summary and detailed tables for the several colonies, &c., area, houses, and population; also population classified by ages, condition as to marriage, occupations, birthplaces, religions, degrees of education, and infirmities.

  • Great Britain. Census Office.
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Census of the British empire, 1901. : Report with summary and detailed tables for the several colonies, &c., area, houses, and population; also population classified by ages, condition as to marriage, occupations, birthplaces, religions, degrees of education, and infirmities. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The differences in the age distribution of the populations as shown in the Table increase ; and (/) gains and losses by migration. Other things being equal, a population in which a comparatively high birth-rate prevails contains a large proportion of persons at the earlier ages and a small proportion at the later ages. Thus in Ceylon, which has a high and an increasing birth-rate, the proportion of both male and female children is greater than in any other Colony. A leading place in the Table is oceupied by the Indian Empire which also has a very high birth-rate ; here the proportion of children would probably be greater than it is had it not been for the heavy mortality from plague and famine during the past decennium. Another example is that of Newfoundland and Labrador, in the small aggregate of 220,984 persons inhabiting which Colony a comparatively high birth-rate prevails, together with a correspondingly large proportion of children in the population. The effect of migration on the age constitution of a population is considerable. For example, the low proportion of children and the high proportion of old people enumerated in Ireland are mainly accounted for by excessive emigration, During the 50 years 1851-1901 no fewer than 3,846,393 Irish persons left tne country with the intention of settling elsewhere ; and in the decennium 1891-1900, the ages of 91 per cent. of the emigrants were returned as between 10 and 45 years. On the other hand, the effect of immigration on the age constitution of a population is well illustrated in such Colonies as Hong Kong, Western Australia, Sierra Leone, Trinidad, the Straits Settlements, and Queensland, where the proportions of males aged 25-45 years were abnormally high, ranging from 32 to 46 per cent. of the total male population. In presenting Census statistics it is usual to group ages in quinquennial or decennial periods, and to estimate the numbers living at each separate year of age by graduation. The age statistics for the Cape of Good Hope and the Australasian Colonies Queensland excepted—are, however, published, as returned, at each year of life. The results indicate the prevalence of errors due to wilful mis-statement and to the tendency, already spoken of, to return the age as an exact multiple of ten. [or example, the numbers returned in the Cape of Good Hope at ages 30, 40, 50 and 60 were 78,184, 56,708, 387,453 and 25,759 respectively, the numbers living at those ages as calculated by several numbers erroneously returned. VIL—CONDITION AS TO MARRIAGE. The condition as to Marriage of the population is a subject of inquiry undertaken by nearly all the Colonial Census authorities ; but, owing to the diverse conditions prevailing in the several countries, it is necessarily treated of with varying amounts of detail. Considering first the conjugal condition simply, the following Table shows the proportions of unmarried, married, and widowed, in the United Kingdom and in some of our principal Colonies and Dependencies :— | Proportion per 1,000 Proportion per 1,000 living, living. cat go, wed pew a 3 | : Pipi shi Ai ed at P = = Pp = Ee. United Kingdom... ... | 609) 384] 57) || Trinidad and Tobago... | 788] 176 | 36 Malta ... bile Lt ” 626 | 325] 49 Canada was son day) 647) (B41) #42 Cyprus oe hie ne 558 | 381] 61 Newfoundland... bate GLE BAT bh dG Indian Empire af ... | 419 | 465 | 116 || New South Wales... aek Opi |) o0o | 40 Ceylon ¥ rt: ot DUG Poor fos 1 Victoria we ae host] SOUT ga Cape of Good Hope... sit 649 | 307 | 44 Queensland ... Ri ate 677 289 | 34 Natal (natives excepted) ... | 588 | 384] 28 | South Australia... eee NGO2 |. °304') 944 Orange River Colony ... | 664} 309} 27 || Western Australia... -» | 647 | (320 | 33 Mauritius , Aa we) 8144 2147 ),1-39 Tasmania... pee .o 660 | 298}. 42 Grenada a :. cog) Ot hieee OL sae New Zealand ee sedul wftO Leds OO doe che St. Lucia fh ch snc} ASOM, Lk bod Causes of variation in age-con- stitution. Ages as returned in single years. Propor- tions of unmarried, married, and widowed. 19809