Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/320

 STATISTICS

276

STATISTICS

of the numbers of the population and its distribution of millions of inhabitants. Buddhism, Confucianism, with regard to religious denominations are of little and ancestor-worship cannot be sharply separated use for statistical investigations. Detailed reUgious from one another; they are at times professed and statistics, dealing distinctly with all countries of the practised by the same individual. It must be borne earth, were for the first time presented by Fournier de in mind, too, that the population of China has hitherto Flaix to the second congress of the International In- been difficult to estimate preciselj' — as much so, in- stitute of Statistics, held in Paris, in 1889. His deed, as that of the interior of Africa. Regarding the example was followed by F. Von Juraschek (1898), H. three rehgions of Eastern Asia, as well as the Fetish- Zeller, and H. A. Krose, S.J. (1903). The figures ism of Africa, the statistical data necessarj- for a re- given by Fournier de Flaix mostly correspond to the liable calculation are wanting even now, and therefore

Make Brim 1810

Graberg 1813

C. G. Stein 1819

Pinkerton 1827

Baibi 1844

228.000,000 5,000,000 110,000,000 60,000,000 150,000,000 100,000,000

236,000,000 5.000,000 120,000,000 60,000,000 ) 150,000,000 V 115,000,000*

228,000,000

6,600,000

120.000,000

353.400,000 .|

235.000.000 5,000,000 120,000,000 60.000,000 180,000,000 100.000,000

260,000,000

4,000.000

96.000,000

Brahmins

60,000,000 170,000,000

147,000,000

Total

653,000,000

686.000,000

708.000,000

700.000,000

737,000,000

conditions at the beginning or the middle of the eigh- ties; those of Juraschek to the period 1890-97. Zeller has in essentials taken over the statements of Jura- schek and made them the basis of his own investiga- tions; he has, however, completed and arranged them more clearly (in Warneck's "AUgemeine Missions- zeitschrift, " 1903), and has added exact references for the various items. The numbers as given by Krose belong to the last decade of the nineteenth cen- tur>' and only in a few cases to 1901. The total re- sults of these four accounts are shown in Table II.

fluctuations of the estimates are easilj' understood. Again, Juraschek-Zeller did not make special cate- gories for Taoism in Japan and ancient cults in India, but added them to the great collective groups just mentioned; and the individuals having no religious denomination seem to have been allotted by Juraschek to other groups on certain principles. Juraschek de- cidedly underestimated the number of Mohamme- dans: recent investigations have proved that Mo- hammedanism is far more widely extended in Africa than was believed. Otherwise the statistical accounts

Fournier de Flaix

Juraschek and Zeller

Krose

230,866,533

143,237,625

98,016,000

4,960,000

254,500,000

165,830,000

106,480,000

8,130,000

264,505,922

166,627,109

109,147,272

8,728,284

477,080,158

7,056,000

176,834,372

190,000.000

147,900,600 256,000,000 14,000.000 43.000,000 117,681,669

534,940,000 10,860,000 175,290,000 214,570,000

126,750,600

300,630,000

14,000,000

173.300,600 170,000

549,017,341

11.036,607

202,048,240

210.100,000

12,113,756

120,250,000

235,000,000

17,000.000

32.000.000

144,700,000

2,844,482

Total.

1,429,552,199

1,544,510.000

1,536,110,426

The differences between the first and the last two ac- counts seem to be considerable. But we must keep in mind that Foumier's figures refer to a time about ten years previous to that of Juraschek-Zeller; and that the distance in time from Krosc's record is even greater. Within a period like this an incrca,se of from 10 to 15 per cent is by no means extraordinarj'. Hence, so far as regards the Christians, the statciuents may easily be made to agree. (The Ilaskoliiiks have apparently been counted with the "Greek Orthodox" by Fournier and with "Other Christians" by Jura- schek-Zeller.) Neither is the disagreement regarding the Mohammedans and the Brahmins remarkable. The number of the Jews, however, has evidently been underrated by Fournier, and that of the Buddhists overestimated. The latter m.ay easily be accounted for, as in the great Chinese Empire, with its hundreds

of Juraschek-Zeller and Krose show a far-reaching agreement, considering the different jjeriods of their estimates. Their calculations having been carried out in complete independence of each otiier, this har- mony no doubt cimfinns the reliability of the results. III. Present .Statis of KEEiciors Bodies. — The tables of Jur:ischek-Zeller and Knise gi\-en in section II correspond on the whole to the last decade of the nineteenth century. At present, therefore, the first decade of the tweiUieth centurj- being oyer, their ac- counts need complementing and revising. This is especially necessarj- with the various Christian de- nominations considering their steady and \-igorous in- crease, while the estimates made ten years ago of the Asiatic and .\fricaii religions may even now be to a large extent accejiteil in the absence of more exact computation. The great difficulties of religious sta^