POPULATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1937, Page 13

POPULATION.

AUSTRALIA'S RECORD.

THE NATURAL INCREASE.

OUTSTRIPPING OLD WORLD.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, January 29.

Not long ago s.oine people who had at least the reputation of being well informed were asked to name the white country which seems most likely, through the natural increase of its people, to double its population within the next 40 years. One suggested Italy, another named- Germany, but no one gave the correct answer, which it; Australia. The average man may be amazed to read this, but there is no doubt about the accuracy of the statement.

Of course it clashes with all that we have heard about the falling birth rate, but the people who think that a high birth rate means the rapid increase of population seem to have forgotten all about the death rate. Surprising Statement. The "Daily Telegraph" surprised many of its readers last week when it told them that "because of its low death rate and low infantile mortality, Australia leads all the European nations in population increase." Astounding as it may seem, this increase is nearly double that of Hitler's Germany. Indeed, the "Telegraph" assures us that so rapid is our net increase that "children born to-day will see Sydney with a population of 7.000,000, and the children of these children will live to see Australia with a population of 100,000,000."

Of course all such estimates assume that birth control will not be extended rapidly. On this subject also many delusions exist. For example, in spite of Hitler's command that his people shall "increase and "multiply," Germany is the most systematic and persistent birth controller of all the European countries. Next on the list follow the "Nordic" countries —Norway, F igland. Denmark. Even Italy, in spite of Mussolini's admonitions in "putting on the brake" and this though the Italians are still largely adherents of the Roman Catholic Chuch. Position in Russia. In Europe the one important exception to the general rule of "race suicide" is Soviet Russia, where birth control so far seems to have found no favour either with rulers or people. But while the rapid extension of such restrictive measures in the Old World tends to hold population in check, the "positive" hindrances to the rapid increase of numbers are even more effective. "Rigorous climate, over-crowding, lack of food, poverty and disease" operate so coi* stantly to neutralise the natural rate of increase that these countries, even where they have not gone so far as Australia in the direction of "race suicide" cannot approach or rival our rate of population growth. But here again it is necessary to take other circumstances into account. For even with a lower mortality scale we cannot hope to catch up the nations that already outnumber us by 10 or even 50 to 1. India has over 300 millions, so that her population strength is not seriously affected by the fact that her rate of increase is" only half that of Australia—and so with Japan and her ttO millions. Still, it remains true that with our good food, sane conditions of life and sunlight, we are outstripping the race increase of the Old World?