England A Nation Of Old People

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 17, 21 January 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

England A Nation Of Old People

THE population of Great Britain, if it falls, as Sir Leonard Hill fears possible, will in 100 years' time, be little more than half the present population of : London, and as it falls in numbers it will be composed more and more of the aged. "What a dull world, when the play and laughter of children and the beauty of youth has largely been replaced by the infirmities of age!" is the opinion of Sir Leonard, who states that in every 100 people there are now 23 under 15 and 12 over 60. In 30 yeans' time the figures will be 10 and 24, and 60 years 4 and 45. With its population reduced the British Empire might ultimately come to an end and England take the place of a small and happv country like Sweden or Switzerland. But great will be the economic and social troubles ahead of us through a lessening of the proportion of children and an increase of the aged. Whenever medical science notably lowered the death rate, there came about a great increase of population. As a result of that, arid the higher etandards set by the public services, the birth rate fell. The fall in the death rate had been the main cause of the rise of population in 130 years from nine to 40 millions. If the present trend was followed, there would by 1941 no longer be any excess of births over death?. The death rate in the future must g" up as the children saved from an early grave grow and become aged. "You may take it tliat in three years' time our population will reach its maximum and then fall at an ever accelerating rate. With (lif present trend it will, it i* computed, have fallen in 100 years to d,00»,0U0."