That India is a country of high birth-rate is of course notorious. The custom of almost universal child marriage, and the anxiety which prevails among some (apparently not all) of the religious sects for a large posterity would alone render this inherently probable. According to the Statesman’s Year Book for 1913 the average birth-rate for India in the three years 1908–10 was 37.7 per thousand. This, however, was “officially but imperfectly recorded,” and the census report for 1901 gave the probable birth-rate for India as 48.8 per thousand. This figure is not at all an unlikely one, for the same rate has prevailed in Russia and parts of Egypt; but such figures as have appeared in the 1911 census report seem to confirm the lower estimate. Here are the figures for three of the important provinces:— Total for decade Percentage of Excess Actual 1901–11 Population Births, – Increase 1901 Deaths Births Deaths Births Deaths Bengal, Behar 29,351,442 25,373,322 39.10 33.80 3,978,120 4,552,293 and Orissa Punjab 8,286,261 8,843,708 40.8 43.5 –557,447 355,383 Assam 1,883,545 1,564,022 35.70 29.65 319,523 489,892 It is possible that these figures are correct, even without any restraint upon births, as the census report of 1901 mentioned that premature and repeated maternity combined with chronic under-nutrition appeared to lead to exhaustion and loss of fertility. In any case, however, the birth-rate counts among the highest at the present day. But when we turn to the death-rate and the natural and actual increase of population there seems little reason for congratulation. The death-rate, given by the Statesman’s Year Book, for the three years above quoted was no less than 34.3, leaving a natural increase of only 3.4 per thousand—the lowest in our Empire, and nearly as low as that of France. The figures for Bengal, etc., above only show a natural increase of 4.7 per thousand, half that of Ontario at its lowest birth-rate of 19 per thousand; those for the Punjab reveal, despite the high birth-rate, an actual diminution of population by excess of deaths over births. The emigration from India appears to be so infinitesimal in comparison with its population that the actual increase represents the natural increase almost exactly. In Fig. 1 is shown the variation of population in the whole of India and in the British Provinces according to the census returns. 1872 1881 1891 1901 1911 Total 206,162,360 263,896,330 287,314,671 294.361.056 315.001.099 population Per cent. increase 23.1 13.1 2.4 7.0 in decade British 195,840,000 199,200,000 221,380,000 231,600,999 244,279,888 Provinces