Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/233

Rh VITAL STATISTICS.] ENGLAND 221 Divisions. Persons to an inhabited House. Persons to an Acre. ACTCS to a Person. 5 4 C6 1-52 4-9 0-26 3-88 England and AVales 5 3 0-61 1-64 England and Wales are at present more densely popu lated than any country of Europe, except Belgium. Taking the whole of the United Kingdom, the average density of population in 1871 was 2G5 individuals per square mile ; but while the proportion in Scotland was only 109, and iu Ireland 169 per square mile, in England and Wales it was 389 inhabitants per square mile. frowth r ^ ne g rowt; h f population leading to the present high f popu- density has been of comparatively recent date. A succinct ition survey of it is given in the subjoined table, showing the 1 Uie estimated population of England and Wales at the end of 1! &quot; June every fifth year from 1801 to 1876, and also for 1877, according to the returns of the registrar-general. Years. June 30th. Males. Females. Total. 1S01 4,404,490 4,656,503 9,060,993 1S06 4,700,476 4,955,643 9,656,119 1811 5,025,212 5,297,380 10,322,592 1816 5,474,848 5,721.308 11,196,156 1821 5,946,821 6,158;793 12,105,614 1S26 6,417,196 6,657,090 13,074,286 1831 6,859,085 7,135,375 13,994,460 1S36 7,310,074 7,618,403 14,928.477 1841 7,784,883 8,144.609 15,929,492 1846 8,298,360 8,645,732 16,944,092 1851 8,808,662 9,174,187 17,982,849 1856 9,311,182 9,731,230 19,042,412 1861 9,801,152 10,318,162 20,119.314 1866 10,427,146 10,982,538 21,409,684 1871 11,093,123 11,689,689 22,782,812 1876 11,801,633 12,442,377 24,244,010 1877 11,948,677 12,598,632 24,547,309 It will be seen that the annual increase from the beginning of the century till the middle of 1877 was at the average rate of 1 35 per cent., being considerably above that of any other country in Europe. The general increase of population was, as before noticed, far greater in the towns than in the rural districts. This was specially the case in the twenty years from the census jtricts f l^l to that of 1871, as shown in the subjoined table. routrh* Census Year. Parliamentary Boroughs. Districts outside Parliamentary Boroughs. Total. 1851 1861 1871 1851-61 1861-71 1351-61 1861-71 7,438,679 8,638,569 10,652,423 10,488,930 11,427,655 12,059,843 17,927,609 20,066,224 22,712,266 Actual increase in the two Periods. 1,199,890 2,013,854 938,725 632,188 2,138,615 2,646,042 Increase per cent. 16 1 23-3 8 9 5-5 11-9 13 2 &amp;gt;pula- &amp;gt;n of One-fourth of the total urban population of England and Wales live in London, and not far from one-third live in 18 large cities and towns, selected by the registrar- general for the publication of weakly rates of mortality. The following is a list of these 18 towns, all of them containing over 60,000 inhabitants, with their population at the censuses of 1861 and 1871, and the rate of increase per cent, during the decennial period. Cities and Towns. 1S61. April 8 1871. April 3. Kate of i: eaM per cent. London 2,803,989 3,254,260 16 1 Liverpool 443,938 493,405 in Manchester 338,722 351,189 37 Sal foul 102,449 124,801 21 8 Birmingham 296,076 343,787 16 1 Leeds 207 165 259,212 25 1 Sheffield 185,172 239,946 29 6 Bristol 154,093 182,552 18 5 Bradford 106,218 145,830 37 3 Newcastle-on-Tvne 109,108 128,443 177 Hull 97,661 121,892 24 8 Portsmouth 94,799 113,569 19 8 Sunderland 78 211 98 242 25 &quot;6 Leicester 68,056 95,220 40 -0 Nottingham 74,693 86 621 16 Oldham 72,333 82,629 14 &quot;2 Norwich 74,891 80,386 73 Wolverhampton 60,860 68,291 12 2 Total 5,368,434 6,270,275 16 8 At the end of June 1877, the population of the 13 largest towns in England and Wales, each with over 100,000 inhabitants, was as follows, according to the estimates of the registrar-general, based upon the returns of births and deaths : London, 3,533,484 inhabitants ; Liverpool, 527,083 ; M mchester, with Salford, 500,397 ; Birmingham, 377,436; Leeds, 291,580; Sheffield, 274,914; Bristol, 199,539 ; Bradford, 173,723 ; Newcastle-on-Tyne, 139,929 ; Hull, 136, 933; Portsmouth, 124,867; Leicester, 113,581 ; and Sunderland, 108,343 inhabitants. While the eight decennial census enumerations, from 1801 to 1871, bear witness to the rapid growth of popula- tion in England and Wales, the favourable vital statistics of the country are no less distinctly shown by the annual returns of the registrar-general compiled from the registers of births, deaths, and marriages. These registers, in use, though not general, since the reign of Queen Elizabeth, were formerly a part of the ecclesiastical organization, and continued to be attached, more or less, to the church till the year 1837, at the commencement of which an Act of Parliament came into operation which provided a far more complete machinery than that before existing for the exact record of all births, deaths, and marriages. The new system established eighteen years earlier than a similar one for Scotland which relieved the clergy from the functions previously thrown upon them, was still more improved by subsequent Acts, one of the most important of which, making all registration of births and deaths com pulsory, came into operation on the 1st of January 1875. It is generally held that the present system is as perfect as that of any country in Europe. The following table gives the annual numbers of births, deaths, and marriages in England and Wales for every fifth year from 1841 when the improved system had been brought into full organization to the year 1876 : Vital sto- tistics. Years. Births. Deaths. Marriages. 1841 512,158 343,847 122,496 1846 572,625 390,315 145,664 1851 615,865 395,396 154,206 1856 657,704 391,369 159,262 1861 696,406 435,114 163,706 1S66 753,870 500,689 187,776 1871 797,428 514,879 190,112 1876 887,464 510,308 201,835 Births, deaths, a. nd mar ~ isffto 1876. The rate of births, deaths, and marriages for each 1000 of the population of England and Wales, computed on the