Characteristics 



The following discussion of certain characteristics of New Hampshire 

 residents brings life to the numbers in the previous section. It provides esti- 

 mates of the birth rate, age distribution, education, and occupation. There 

 are no outstanding differences between the characteristics of the overage 

 resident of New Hampshire and the United States, nor between the rural 

 farm and urban residents in the State. What differences do occur are the 

 real characteristics of New Hampshire people. 



National Origin 



The proportion of foreign born in the population of New Hampshire 

 declined from 18.1 percent in 1910 to 13.5 percent in 1950. 



Canada is the major national origin of foreign born residents. The 

 following tables indicate the relative importance of these national groups. 



Table 16. Number of French Canadians and Their Percentage of Total Population 



in New Hampshire 



Percent of 



Year Number Total Population 



1910 40.865 9.5 



1920 38,277 8.6 



1930 37,682 8.1 



1940 29,442 6.0 



1950 24,930 4.7 



Table 17. Number of Other Canadians and Their Percentage of Total Population 



in New Hampshire 



Year 



1910 

 1920 

 1930 

 1940 



1950 



The other nationalities are represented by smaller percentages. Irish 

 born were 2.5 percent of the total population in 1910 but only 0.5 percent 

 in 1950. Nationals other than Canadian and Irish declined from 6.5 percent 

 of the population in 1910 to 3.9 percent in 1950, or from 28,015 in 1910 

 to 20,731 in 1950. 



Crude Birth Rate 



The crude birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 population. In 

 New Hampshire the birth rates for the years 1930 to 1951 are given in Table 

 18 in comparison with the United States. There is a marked increase in the 

 1940's and a rate decrease in 1950 is followed by a further increase in 1951. 

 The birth rate in New Hampshire has increased steadily since 1930 but at 

 a less rapid rate than for the United States as a whole (Figure 2). 



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