Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/469

 AREA AND POPULATION.

433

Area and Population.

The kingdom is divided into twenty provinces, or Amts, the area and population of which was as follows at the two last enumerations, of December 31, 1855, and of December 31, 18G5 : —

Area in

Amts

geographical

Population,

Population,

sq. miles

Dec. 31, 1855

Dec. 31, 1S65

Christiania (town).

0-17

31,715

57,382

Akershus

93-26

96,055

107,416

Smaalenene.

72-78

84.416

98,849

Hedemarken.

47196

101,394

120,411

Christians

454-79

115,149

124,968

Budskerud

26615

90,343

99,275

Jarlsberg

40-48

73,223

85,423

Bratsberg

268-3S

76.546

81,929

Nedenas

18128

59,112

68,033

Lister and Mandal

113-96

67,370

73,757

Stavanger

160-89

91,539

104,849

Sondre Bergenlms

275-31

104,763

113,386

Bergen (town)

0-03

24,512

27,703

Nordre Bergenhus

331-17

81,496

86,784

Bomsdal

265-44

90,283

104,337

Sondre Trondhjem

33328

96,318

109,043

Xordre Trondhjem

413-36

73,571

82,489

Nordland

689-51

77,587

89,668

Tromso

457-14

54,655 [

45,334

Finmark

Total.

860-54

20,329

5.749-88

1,490,047

1,701,365

English square miles

120,729

The inhabitants of the kingdom are homogeneous in race and reli- gion, and the land is very equally divided among them. Landed property descends the same as personal property, and there exists no privilege of birth, that of hereditary nobility having been abolished by a law which passed the Storthing August 1, 1821. With the exception of 2,800 dissenters, enumerated in the last census, the population adhere to the Lutheran Church. All sects of Christians and Jews are tolerated, but only the members of the Lutheran Church are admitted to public offices, and charges under the Government.

Education is compulsory in the kingdom, parents being bound to let their children, between the ages of seven and fourteen, receive public instruction. Schoolmasters are settled in each parish, who live either in fixed residences, or move at stated intervals from one

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