| Countries. | Period of Observation. |
Boys born for 100 Girls. |
| Italy | 1865–78 | 104 |
| France | 1866–77 | 103 |
| England and Wales | 1865–78 | 104 |
| Scotland | 1865–75 | 106 |
| Ireland | 1865–78 | 106 |
| Prussia | 1865–78 | 104 |
| Bavaria | 1865–78 | 103 |
| Austria | 1865–78 | 106 |
| Hungary | 1865–77 | 104 |
| Switzerland | 1872–78 | 99 |
| Belgium | 1865–78 | 102 |
| Holland | 1865–77 | 102 |
| Sweden | 1865–78 | 106 |
| Spain | 1865–70 | 104 |
| Greece | 1870–77 | 94 |
| Roumania | 1870–77 | 105 |
| Russia in Europe | 1867–74 | 105 |
| Servia | 1865–78 | 111 |
On the somewhat anomalous figures we must observe that those relating to Greece and Servia are possibly to be explained by the hypothesis of inaccurate returns. We may add that, if a distinction is made between legitimate and illegitimate children, it is usually found that the excess of male births is greater among the latter. In countries, therefore, where the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births is high there will usually be a higher proportion of male to female births than in countries where there are not relatively so many illegitimate births (Block, p. 429). Interesting inquiries have been made into the facts regarding the distribution of births during the year, showing that there are, as a rule, more births in some months than in others, and also as to the influence high prices for the primary necessaries of life have on the number of births (Mayr, p. 235).
The Death-Rate.—The death-rate of a population is the proportion borne by the number of deaths in a year to the number of the population. The population is to be reckoned as has been already described in dealing with the birth-rate. This very important statistical quantity is sometimes confused with another relating to the same phenomenon, namely, the mean duration of life. The difficulties in obtaining an accurate death-rate are, if any thing, greater than in the case of the birth-rate.
| Countries. | Period Observed. | Average Yearly Number of Deaths to 100 Inhabitants. |
| Italy | 1865–78 | 2·99 |
| France | 1865–77 | 2·40 |
| England and Wales | 1865–78 | 2·20 |
| Scotland | 1865–78 | 2·21 |
| Ireland | 1865–78 | 1·72 |
| Prussia | 1865–78 | 2·72 |
| Bavaria | 1865–78 | 3·09 |
| Austria | 1865–78 | 3·18 |
| Hungary | 1865–77 | 3·80 |
| Switzerland | 1870–78 | 2·38 |
| Belgium | 1865–78 | 2·32 |
| Holland | 1865–77 | 2·49 |
| Sweden | 1865–78 | 1·92 |
| Spain | 1855–70 | 3·12 |
| Greece | 1865–77 | 2·09 |
| Roumania | 1870–77 | 2·65 |
| Russia in Europe | 1867–75 | 3·67 |
This table is sufficient for our purpose, which is to give a general idea as to the death-rate of these countries. Much more accurate approximations are, however, needed for actuarial purposes, and very elaborate valuations of the death-rate will be found in G. F. Knapp’s work Ueber die Ermittelung der Sterblichkeit (Leipsic, 1868).
Great pains have been taken by most civilized states to obtain accurate figures as to the mortality of the population, and the literature dealing with the subject is of great extent.
We must now show how the death-rate is usually composed as regards age. The following table (X.) shows the number of persons out of every hundred deaths who died at the undermentioned ages in each of the countries named (Haushofer, p. 143; quoted from the Movimento):—
| Italy, 1872–77. |
France, 1866–77. |
England, 1866–70. |
Prussia, 1875–77. |
Bavaria, 1871–77. |
Austria, 1865–77. |
Switzerland, 1873–77. |
Spain, 1865–70. |
Russia in Europe, 1870–74. | |
| 0–1 | 26·73 | 18·79 | 24·76 | 32·20 | 40·47 | 31·80 | 26·21 | 22·93 | 36·21 |
| 1–5 | 21·04 | 10·51 | 15·73 | 16·19 | 9·77 | 16·20 | 8·11 | 25·20 | 21·12 |
| 5–10 | 4·60 | 2·98 | 3·84 | 4·04 | 2·37 | 4·38 | 2·62 | 3·73 | 5·00 |
| 10–15 | 2·08 | 1·76 | 1·97 | 1·66 | 1·00 | 1·91 | 1·59 | 1·98 | 2·07 |
| 15–20 | 2·17 | 2·49 | 2·59 | 1·85 | 1·22 | 2·14 | 2·13 | 2·39 | 2·06 |
| 20–30 | 5·46 | 7·30 | 3·14 | 4·83 | 4·10 | 5·37 | 5·58 | 5·62 | 4·76 |
| 30–40 | 5·14 | 6·40 | 6·42 | 5·34 | 4·65 | 5·70 | 6·54 | 5·90 | 4·97 |
| 40–50 | 5·45 | 6·90 | 6·68 | 5·62 | 5·13 | 6·44 | 7·17 | 6·89 | 5·63 |
| 50–60 | 6·63 | 8·83 | 7·02 | 7·49 | 7·31 | 7·84 | 9·43 | 7·24 | 6·23 |
| 60–70 | 8·82 | 12·75 | 8·32 | 8·91 | 10·67 | 8·84 | 13·22 | 8·62 | 6·38 |
| 70–80 | 8·14 | 14·50 | 9·72 | 8·07 | 9·55 | 6·74 | 12·39 | 6·68 | 4·14 |
| 80–90 | 3·33 | 6·21 | 7·60 | 2·79 | 3·20 | 2·35 | 4·08 | 2·50 | 1·06 |
| 90–100 | 0·37 | 0·57 | 2·09 | 0·27 | 0·23 | 0·24 | 0·27 | 0·31 | 1·16 |
| Over 100 | 0·01 | 0·01 | 0·12 | 0·02 | 0·01 | ... | 0·01 | 0·02 | |
| Unknown. | 0·03 | ... | ... | 0·72 | 0·06 | 0·04 | ... | ... | 0·19 |
It will be seen that from nearly one-fifth to nearly one-third of the deaths were those of children less than twelve months old. The very high proportion of deaths at this age in Bavaria was some years ago made the subject of a special inquiry by Dr Mayr, and it was found to be largely due to the bad mode of bringing up infants peculiar to certain localities (Mayr, pp. 91, 319).
The composition of the death-rate in regard to sex must be touched on briefly. As we have seen, more boys are born than girls. Owing, however, to the greater mortality among the former their number is rapidly reduced during the first few years of life, so that at any given moment the population is composed as stated in the age scales. The exact mode in which a given number of persons born in the same year disappears by death is shown in the elaborate tables of mortality used by actuaries. These tables are different for different countries and for males and females. Very elaborate tables of survival were prepared for the British Government in 1883–84 for calculating annuities.
We cannot here deal with what is known as the “population question.” Any adequate discussion of that highly important subject would involve considerations outside the limits of this article. The “population question” is a question of conduct, while the present article seeks only to point out certain well-ascertained facts regarding the phenomenon of superorganic evolution called population. The facts in question are general, and, though sufficient to indicate the nature of the phenomenon, and the broad divisions which are most convenient for its further investigation, are quite insufficient as the basis for the formation of any ethical judgment regarding the actions of the individuals composing the population.
Among the works that may be consulted to the greatest advantage by the student are the following:—the numerous works of the late Dr William Farr, F.R.S., formerly registrar-general; various works by Dr W. A. Guy, F.R.S.; those of Adolphe Quetelet; various monographs by Dr Ernst Engel, and other eminent statists in the official publications of the Prussian Statistical Office; various publications of the Italian Statistical Bureau; the publications of the lnternational Congress of Statistics. Systematic treatment of the whole subject of population will be found in the following works:—Bertillon, Mouvements de la Population dans divers états de l’Europe, Paris, 1877; Maurice Block, Traité théorique et pratique de statistique, Paris, 1878; L. Bodio, Movimento dello stato civile, Rome, 1878 (publication of the Italian Statistical Bureau); A. Gabaglio, Storia e teoria della statistica, Milan, 1880; M. Haushofer, Lehr- und Handbuch der Statistik, Vienna, 1882.
