Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/178

 126 THE BRITISH EMPIRE : — INDIA AND DEPENDENCIES

IV. Movement of the Population.

The ratio of births and deaths in British India per thousand of the popu- lation under registration is officially recorded as follows : —

Birth rates '

Death rates 1

1918 1919

1918

1919

Delhi ......

47-92 45 8

93-47

42-0

32-9 27-5

3S-1

36-2

United Prove, of Agra &Oudh.

39-89 32-39

82-37

41-69

39-6 40-3

SO -96

28-3

Central Provinces and Berar.

43-24

34 31

102-6

43 24

83-01

29 89

39-59

81 09

3498

80-52

461

50-09

Bihar and Orissa

37-5

30-4

56-7

40

28-9

25-5

43-0

27-2

31-61

27-9

88-05

32-53

N.W. Front. Prov. .

30-6

28-6

70-3

28-6

29-67

26-35

42-65

35 36

Ajmer-Merwara

20-35 35-35

3004

114-78

28 67

Total

30-24

62-46

35-87

1 The rates for the two years are calculated on the 1911 census population.

The registered deaths in 1919 numbered 8,554,178, of which cholera accounted for 578,426; plague, 74,284: fevers, 5,468,181; dysentery and diarrhcea, 291,643. The total deaths from plague in all India (British and native) from 1896 to the end of 1918 exceeded 10 millions, averaging nearly half a million per year.

The number of coolie emigrants from India was in 1915-16, 4,290; in 1916-17, 6,339; in 1917-18, 869. The bulk went to Demerara, Trinidad, Jamaica, Fiji, and Surinam. The emigration of unskilled labour has been prohibited, and it has been decided not to revive indentured emigration. The question of the introduction of a system of assisted emigration is under consideration.

V. Principal Towns. The urban population of India in 1911 was as follows : —

Towns with

No.

Population

Over 100,000

50,000—100,000 .... 20,000— 50,000 .... 10,000— 20,000 .... 5,000— 10,000 .... Under 5,000 ....

80

45

181

442

848 607

7,075,782 3,010,281 5,545,820 6,163,954 5,944,503 2,007,888

Total

2,158

29,748,228