CHINA’S POPULATION

Evening Star, Issue 19550, 7 May 1927, Page 22

CHINA’S POPULATION

. HIGH DEATH RATE China, with its swarming millions of people, its crowded streets and villages, Las a very low rate of population increase in recent years, largely because of tho great proportion of deaths. Tin's fact is shown by a now study of Chinese censuses since 1741, made by a Chinese Government statistician, Chang Heng-Chen. In 1741 tho Chinese people numbered only about twenty-five millions more than the United States population of to-day, and in tho fifty years following 1741 the population more than doubled, advancing at the rate of 15 per 1,000 people every year. In the next half century tho population increase slowed down to less than five additions a year to each 1,000 people. From 1849 down to 1922 the rate of addition has gone down to only .81 per thousand. This, Air Chang says, is lower than the rate of population advance in any other country except France. “ The rate of increase of nations of the white race since 1800 has been 11 per 1,000,” he says. “ This means that the rata of increase of the Chinese population in modern times has been not quite one-third as fast as 'that of other countries.”

The Chinese population readied the 400,000,000 mark back, in 1835, according to tho census figures. Since that time it has advanced only to 438,370,000, and the statistician believes that this extraordinarily slow rate of advance is duo to high death rates rather than to low birth rates. China does not need any large increase of population at present, he adds, but high death rates are not healthy factors. Census figures before 1741 iu China were misleading, Mr Chang shows, because the head count included only males between sixteen and sixty years, and it was taken with tho primary purpose of levelling taxes. These taxes were lower iu sparsely-settled communities. Hence, Chinese population figures were often strangely low. After 1741, both males and females of all ages were counted, Air Chang states.—‘ Science Service.’