View report page

97
THE CENSUS.
In England and Wales the population increased since 1901 from
32,527,843 to 36,075,269, a percentage increase of 10.9. This is
the lowest rate of increase on record, the rates for the two previous
decennia being 11.65 and 12.17, respectively. The rate of increase of
population depends upon two factors: (1) the balance between births
and deaths; and (2) the balance between outward and inward passenger
movement. The net gain by excess of births over deaths was
slightly higher than in the previous decennium (12.44 as against 12.39
per cent.), a result due to the counterbalancing of a large reduction
on the birth-rate by a still larger reduction of the death-rate. The
loss by balance of passenger movement was nearly half a million
persons as compared with about 68,000 in 1891-1901, and over
600,000 in 1881-1891.
With regard to the counties in which there has been a considerable
rise ox fall in the population it appears that some of the highest
increases occurred in counties immediately surrounding the metropolis;
Kent, however, showed an increase of only 8.8 per cent. The
distribution of population in urban and rural districts, respectively,
and their relative changes in the last intercensal period, are as fallows:
In 1901, the urban population of England and Wales was 77 per cent,
of the total, and the rural population 23 per cent. For 1911, the
figures are 78.1 and 21.9. The rate of increase in Rural Districts
has risen from 2.9 to 10.2 per cent., and the rate in Urban Districts
has fallen from 15.2 to 11.1 per cent. It should, however, be noted
that the rates represent an actual increase of 2,818,072 persons in the
Urban and of only 729,354 in the Rural Districts.
Three metropolitan boroughs show a percentage increase in population
of more than io, namely, Wandsworth (+34.3), Lewisham
(+26.2), and Fulham (+11.7). On the other hand, six show a
decrease of more than 10 per cent., namely, City of London (-27.0),
Holborn (-16.9), Finsbury (-13.3), City of Westminster (-12.4),