52 THE SHADOW OF THE WORLD'S FUTURE 
and this helps us to give our view a more concrete 
form. 
Date-year . . 1928 2033 2138 2243 2348 I. 
Population, millions 1950 3900 7800 15,600% 31,200% II. 
Per square mile . 37-1 743 148-6 297.1% s594-3% IIL 
Side of square, feet. 866 613 433 306 * 217% IV. 
{ Russia-in- 
United Europe 3 Nether-, 
i States. and Rumania. Japan. lands. 
Latvia. 
V 
The populations and average densities marked with 
asterisks are not possible for the whole world. The 
number of feet giving the side of the square for a 
single person, takes no account of the fact that a very 
considerable part of the world-surface is quite unin- 
habitable, but supposes it all to be uniformly occupied. 
Thus the figures do not give at all a correct idea of 
the average available area of habitable land. Owing to 
the vast area of mountainous, rocky, desert and barren 
character, the real average amount is very much less 
than that shown. 
We have now seen that, even the recent and appar- 
ently very moderate rate of increase, were it constant, 
would lead to enormous numbers in two, three, or 
four centuries. We are thus compelled in this way to 
face the fact, that such a rate cannot possibly continue 
for the periods mentioned. Although there are no 
adequate statistics available, showing over a great 
length of time how the rates of increase fall off, there 
has been a very remarkable similarity in the develop- 
ments of the population of China, and in that of the 
aggregate of the populations of Australia, Austria, 
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, 
Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Servia, 
Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United 
States. Thus, accepting not the individual counts 
but the general trend of the counts given in the Tung-