African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 832 - 136: Population in 1890

First Town.

By the beginning of 1890, the population statistics of East Africa had been updated once more. If not for the war, the data should have been completed around July or August of the previous year.

Since the population census in East Africa switched to every ten years, 1889 marked a decade since the last census, delayed by a few months due to the war.

In 1879, the population of East Africa was fifty million, including thirty million citizens and nearly twenty million Black people. Now, a decade has passed.

"By the end of last December, the total population of East Africa had surpassed fifty-two million, making our country one of the few in the world to exceed fifty million. We rank after the Far East Empire, the United Kingdom, Tsarist Russia, and the United States."

"The population of the United States, according to our estimates, should have surpassed sixty million. As for Germany and the Austria-Hungary, they should both be around forty million, with Germany likely approaching fifty million, not much different from us. Austria-Hungary should be slightly stronger than France, but its population is roughly ten million less than ours."

The current Austria-Hungary differs from its predecessor due to the addition of the Venice area, so its population exceeds the original history, likely just over forty million.

Germany has consistently maintained a high birth rate, and in recent years, there has been no population outflow, so its population is approaching fifty million but likely has not exceeded it.

France maintains stable performance but absorbed a significant population from Italy during the Italian war, making its population possibly higher than in a similar period.

The disintegration of Italy can be said to have significantly contributed to population increases in countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa, all benefiting from the surplus Italian population.

If Italy hadn't dissolved, it would still be a Great Power with a population exceeding thirty million.

Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Italy still has a population of around ten million, and the Red Sea Colony greatly alleviated population pressure in the Kingdom of Italy.

The Kingdom of Naples fared much worse. With a poor economic foundation and the highest birth rate on the Apennine Peninsula, it has now overtaken Germany as the region with the most severe population loss in Europe.

"Among the world's top five population powers, the United Kingdom is a rather unique existence, as the population of British India colonies alone exceeds two hundred million. If France included its colonies, its total population is estimated to exceed ours."

Including French colonies, France's total population should be around seventy million, directly surpassing the United States, ranking it fourth in the world.

The colonial populations are likely one of the main factors enabling the United Kingdom and France to dominate the world stage. Although Tsarist Russia also has a large domestic population, many of its territories are essentially akin to colonies, especially in areas of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

"Currently, our number of Black people remains unclear, as the population data for Mozambique and Angola hasn't been completed. However, it should not exceed four million. Assuming the Black population in these two regions is calculated at four million, then in our country, the Black population is approximately 21 million."

Adding in the Black population, East Africa's population directly surpasses seventy million, roughly on par with France's population including its colonies, even exceeding the total population of the United States, thereby maintaining East Africa's population stability in the world's top five.

However, this also causes East African officials to feel uneasy, as even after ten years of development, the number of Black people only increases.

But these Black people can no longer stir up trouble, as East African citizens nearly double the Black population. Even if the Black population were to gain rights in the future, it couldn't change the demographic structure of East Africa.

And it's clear that the East African Government wouldn't give Black people this opportunity. The national strategy of "replace the old with the new" will continue until the last drop of blood is completely replaced.

At this point, Ernst spoke: "Our attitude toward Black people remains as it always has been: they can only be used, not considered part of the East African Countries. It's already the 1890s; within the next thirty years, we must completely eliminate the Black population in East Africa."

The only country globally adopting a similar national policy to East Africa is Argentina, while many countries and regions with Black populations have become accustomed to coexisting with them.

The most typical examples are Brazil and the United States. Not long ago, Brazil officially abolished the slave system, which means that Brazil's population structure is now set in stone. Although the Black population in the United States remains in a low position, they have already integrated into American society. Of course, this integration refers to integration into the lower strata of society.

Although East Africa's Black population is only double that of the United States, under Ernst's special care, the Black population in the United States has already exceeded nine million, accounting for about fourteen percent of the US population. Historically, it was eleven percent.

The Black population in the United States will continue to rise in the future, as after the ceasefire in East Africa, the slave trade between East Africa and Haiti resumed.

Following the South African War, the reconciliation between the United States and East Africa further facilitated East Africa's contribution to American economic construction.

During the 1870s and 1880s, East Africa took advantage of the economic crisis to acquire a large number of German people from the United States while sending back nearly two million Black people, so the United States still came out ahead.

Of course, the number of German people intercepted by East Africa from the United States was not significant. For example, a third of New York's population is now of German descent, while the German population in the United States remains at sixty-seven million. The United States is still the fourth-largest country with a German population, after Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa. Nowadays, the main foreign populations in the United States are Italians (including those from the Kingdom of Naples), Black people (mainly from East Africa), and the Irish.

The large-scale migration of Irish people to the United States once again is closely related to British Prime Minister Cecil.

In the 1870s, Irish autonomy already became a focal point in the United Kingdom. During Gladstone's rule, the Irish issue remained unresolved until Cecil came to power.

Cecil was a hardliner, much like when he initiated the South African War. He adopted a policy of suppression towards Ireland. Hence, during Cecil's rule, Ireland initiated a new round of resistance movements, and the unstable situation spurred a new wave of ordinary Irish immigration.

However, Cecil has already stepped down due to the failure of the South African War, and Gladstone successfully reorganized the cabinet.

So moving forward, the relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland will ease up, and the issue of Irish population loss will also be somewhat mitigated.

For East Africa, this is also good news. If everyone in the world were flocking to the United States, it would make it more challenging for East Africa to export its population to the United States.

Nonetheless, the Black problem remains severe. The twenty million Black population in East Africa is not insignificant. Based on the current number of Black people being sent overseas, East Africa's task is still extensive. However, Ernst has new plans regarding this: to increase the export volume of the population to West Africa.

Currently, although East Africa lacks labor force, this is mainly due to population structure. East Africa has so many newborns and high rearing costs, which is the main reason East Africa maintains its Black population.

Nevertheless, in just about fifteen years, East Africa's new generation will be fully grown, and by then, East Africa will have no need to retain a large Black population.

Moreover, as time progresses, the development of industries such as internal combustion engines and electricity leads to improved production efficiency. Even if East Africa's population remains unchanged, Black people can gradually be phased out, as the decline of the modern slave trade is primarily due to industrial development and increased production efficiency, a process that East Africa will also experience.