STATESMAN'S YEAR-BOOK

STATISTICAL AND HISTORICAL ANNUAL OF

THE STATES OF THE WORLD

FOR THE YEAR

1890

EDITED BY

J. SCOTT KELTIE

LIBRARIAN TO THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL PUBLICATION

REVISED AFTER OFFICIAL RETURNS

London

MACMILLAN AND CO.

AND NEW YORK

1890 !

MAY

-1891

4639

Man sagt oft: Zahlen regieren die Welt. Das aber ist gewiss, Zahlen zeigen wie sie regiert wird.

GOETHE

PRINTED BY

SPOTTIS WOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE

LONDON

PREFACE.

THE YEAR-BOOK for 1890 has been entirely reprinted with new type. At the same time the whole work has been reorganised, greatly extended, and thoroughly revised.

The YEAR-BOOK is now divided into two parts :—

Part First, the British Empire, includes-I. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; II. India, the Colonies, Protectorates, and Dependencies.

These last are arranged alphabetically under the parts of the world in which they are situated -1. Europe; 2. Asia ; 3. Africa; 4. America; 5. Australasia and Oceania.

It has been sought this year to give an exhaustive list of all territories over which the British Government has any claim whatever, and to exhibit what information about them is obtainable, of a kind likely to be useful to public men, avoiding such purely geographical information as will be found in any gazetteer. Thus many dependencies are introduced that did not appear in former issues, some of them to be found in no other publication. The information given about the various British possessions has been much extended.

Part Second includes all Foreign Countries. In deference to a frequently-expressed wish on the part of those who are in the habit of consulting the YEAR-BOOK, the section dealing with Foreign Countries is arranged in alphabetical order, as nothing is gained by the division under Continents. This will make the book much easier to consult.

Here also a considerable number of States have been introduced that had no place in former editions. Every country,

indeed, that may be regarded as a State, however rudimentary, will be found in the reorganised YEAR-Book. In Africa, especially, there are several so-called States about which many interested in public affairs desire information, now that so much attention is attracted to that Continent. All unannexed African countries of any importance have therefore been introduced. Those countries which are claimed by the European Powers will be found under the European States of which they are dependencies. Thus Abyssinia will be found under Italy; Sokoto and Nyassaland under the British Empire, and so on.

The important unannexed countries around British India have been introduced—Afghanistan, Bhotan, Nepaul, &c.; while certain countries in Central Asia over which Russia claims suzerainty have been added to that State. So with other parts of the world.

The information given under each country has been extended and rearranged on a uniform plan, and new classes of statistics have been introduced; the information under those heads existing in previous editions has been systematised and added to; the aim being to give for each country all the information, not purely geographical, that those interested in public affairs are likely to want.

It has been sought not to greatly increase the size of the book, but to retain the old handy form, by the partial introduction of a slightly smaller, but easily legible, type. In this way much more information than was possible in former editions has been given in about the same space.

In almost every case the accounts of the various countries have been written by the officials of their statistical bureaus, or other Government departments, or from information specially supplied by these. In all cases the notices of our own Colonies have been written or revised on the spot. With regard to the Colonial possessions of other countries, it will be found that these receive more attention than has hitherto been the case, or is the case in any other English publication.

It is therefore hoped that by these and other improvements the YEAR-BOOK will continue to deserve the wide confidence which has hitherto been placed in it.