Segar. — The Population of New Zealand. 



451 



have the smaller death-rate if other conditions are the same. 

 It is little use comparing the general death-rates of two 

 countries unless these considerations are taken into account, 

 and the proper way of comparing the vitality of the people of 

 one country with that of the people of another is by com- 

 paring the death-rates of the two peoples for the several 

 ages. This was done for New Zealand, Victoria, and Eng- 

 land by Mr. C. E. Adams, B.Sc, A.I. A., and the results given 

 are very favourable to New Zealand, so that, even if the age- 

 distributions were the same in these three countries, New 

 Zealand would still have the smallest death-rate, though it 

 would not be so small relatively to the others as it actually is. 



Again, the average death-rate in Sweden for the years 

 1887-96 was 1648. This was the smallest in Europe, but 

 is large compared with that of New Zealand, which was 9-87 

 during the same period. If, however, the age-distribution in 

 New Zealand had been the same as in Sweden, the death-rate 

 for New Zealand would have been about 14 instead of 9 - 87 

 during the same period, and in 1894 would have reached as 

 high as 14-44. 



We have already seen that, if the ages of the people had a 

 stationary distribution, the death-rate would be 18'03, whereas 

 the actual rate is about 10. The smallness of this actual rate, 

 then, is due mainly to the youth of the people. 



The Annual Number of Births and the Birth-rate op 



New Zealand. 



Up to and including the year 1880 the number of births 

 per annum in New Zealand always increased from year to year. 

 The number for 1880, which was 19,341, was not reached 

 again, however, till 1884, in which year the number of births 

 was 19,846, and up to the present moment this remains the 

 record. For the last twenty-one years the births have been 

 as exhibited in the following table : — 



Table III. —Births in New Zealand. 



Thus the average for the last five years is somewhat less 



