For the ages from 40 to 50, males were proportionally more numerous, while beyond 50 the percentages of females were equal to or greater than those of males. In the case of the foreign whites, the percentages of females were greater than those of males up to 15 years. Indeed, while only 4.0 per cent of males were under 15 years of age, 12.4 per cent of the females were under that age. From 15 to 50 years the percentages of males were the greater, while above 50, as a rule, those of females were the larger. Of the colored, the percentages of males were larger up to 15 years; then the percentages of females were equal to or larger than those of males up to 55 years, above which age the proportions of males equaled or exceeded those of females. The following table presents, for each of the provinces and for the city of Habana, the proportions which the people of each age group formed of the total population: The small proportion of children of 8 years and over, which was noted in the discussion concerning the total population, is plainly shown here in the case of each province, but in different degrees. Apparently, Habana suffered most severely from the war and reconcentration, as was to have been expected. Matanzas also suffered greatly, and Santa Clara nearly as much, while Camagüey felt the effects of the war the least, as was also to have been expected. It is impossible to measure its effects in Habana city, as the presence of a large foreign element in the population greatly complicates the situation. The distribution of children under the age of 10, by provinces, has been discussed. The proportion of the population between the ages of 10 and 19 ranged from 19.0 per cent in Habana up to 23.3 per cent in Camagüey. This class has been affected in marked degree by the war, as shown above, and their proportion was little larger than that of the next group, 20 to 29 years. Indeed, in Santa Clara the two were equal and in Pinar del Río and Habana the class 20 to 29 years was the larger. In Pinar del Río this is the result of the war and in Habana the war and the large foreign element were jointly the cause. The group 20 to 29 years formed proportions ranging from 19.1 per cent in Matanzas to 20.1 per cent in Santa Clara and 22.6 per cent in Habana, where its magnitude was due to the foreign born. In Habana city the proportion, 24.0 per cent, was even greater. The next group, 30 to 39 years, shows a greater range and several curious anomalies. The largest proportions were found in the city and the province of Habana, the percentages being 16.6 and 15.4, respectively. The next largest proportion was that of Matanzas, 12.7 per cent, while the smallest proportion, 9.6 per cent, was found in Oriente. In Camagüey and Oriente the proportions were less than half as great as those for the preceding age group. In Camagüey it dropped from 19.5 per cent to 9.7 per cent; and in Oriente, from 19.4 per cent to 9.6 per cent. In Pinar del Río and Santa Clara the drop was nearly as great, in the first, from 20.0 to 12.2 and in the second, from 20.1 to 12.1. The next group, 40 to 49 years, also shows anomalies. Among the provinces, except Pinar del Río, the range was small, being only from 8.9 per cent in Oriente up to 9.9 per cent in Habana. Pinar del Río, however, showed only 7.5 per cent. In Camagüey the reduction in the proportion from the group next preceding was only 0.3 per cent, from 9.7 per cent to 9.4 per cent. Again, in Oriente, the reduction was only from 9.6 per cent to 8.9 per cent. In the next group, 50 to 59 years, the proportions ranged from 4.1 per cent in Pinar del Río up to 6.1 per cent in Matanzas. Those at least 60 years of age were in greatest proportion in Matanzas, 6.6 per cent; least in Pinar del Río, 3.3 per cent; and small in Oriente, 4.1 per cent. The province of Matanzas is characterized by a large proportion of elderly people, 12.7 per cent being at least 50 years of age, while in Pinar del Río only 7.4 per cent were above that age, and in Oriente only 9.3 per cent. Measured in this way the provinces rank in the following order: The following table shows the proportions of native whites, foreign whites, and colored in each age group: The proportion of the native whites diminished quite constantly from the youngest to the oldest; on the other hand the proportion of the colored varied slightly up to 50 years, and then increased rapidly. This results from two causes: the larger proportion of children among the native whites, and the tendency among the colored to exaggerate their ages. Of course, the latter cause, in so far as it was effective, has falsified the returns. The proportion of foreign whites increased from the youngest age group to that of 30 to 34 years, when it reached a maximum. PERSONS IN THE PRIME OF LIFE. The number of persons between the ages of 18 and 44 years was, in 1907, 880,052. This was 43 per cent of the population. In 1899, the corresponding proportion was 42.3 per cent; there was, therefore, a slight but not significant increase at the later census. In 1907, this class was composed of 54 per cent males and 46 per cent females- the large excess of males being accounted for by the presence in this age group of the majority of the foreign born, among which element of the population 4 out of 5 were of the male sex. The following table shows the proportion which this age group formed of the total population of each province and the city of Habana: Habana city and province had the largest proportions, because of their large number of foreign born. |