THE PEOPLE: NUMBERS, RACES, AND LANGUAGES

Growth of Population.—It is probable that in the 64 years since annexation the population of the Panjáb has increased by from 40 to 50 per cent. The first reliable census was taken in 1881. The figures for the four decennial enumerations are:

YearPanjáb.N.W.F. ProvinceKashmír
BritishNative StatesTotal
188117,274,5973,861,68321,136,2801,543,726
189119,009,3684,263,28023,272,648 1,857,5042,543.952
190120,330,3374,424,39824,754,7352,041,5342,905,578
191119,974,9564,212,97424,187,7302,196,9333,158,126

Incidence of Population in Panjáb.—The estimated numbers of independent tribes dwelling within the British sphere of influence is 1,600,000. The incidence of the population on the total area of the Panjáb including native States is 177 per square mile, which may be compared with 189 in France and 287 in the British Isles. As the map shows, the density is reduced by the large area of semi-desert country in the south-west and by the mountainous tract in the north-east. The distribution of the population is the exact opposite of that which prevails in Great Britain. There are only 174 towns as compared with 44,400 villages, and nearly nine-tenths of the people are to be found in the latter. Some of the so-called towns are extremely small, and the average population per town is but 14,800 souls. There are no large towns in the European sense. The biggest, Delhi and Lahore, returned respectively 232,837 and 228,687 persons.

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Fig. 27. Map showing density of population.

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Fig. 28. Map showing increase and decrease of population.