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was 70.1 per cent. and at the 1901 Census the proportion was 72.6 per cent., so there is a steady increase in the proportion of females (which means an increase in family life) during the past ten years. Over half the Civil population (52.9 per cent. of the Chinese and 55.7 per cent. of the Non-Chinese) were between the ages of 20 and 45 years.
The average strength of the Troops in Garrison during 1911 was 105 British Officers and 1,849 British N.C.O.'s and men; and 35 Indian Officers and 1,980 Indian N.C.O.'s and men; and 49 Chinese attached to the Royal Engineers. There were also 406 British women and children, and 39 Indian women and children making a total of 445.
The average strength of British fleet was as follows:-
British permanently in the Colony 530, British occasionally in the Colony 5,350, Chinese permanently in the Colony 150, Chinese occasionally in the Colony 150, making a total of 6,180. For the purpose of estimating the population it is considered a fair average to include one third only of those "occasionally" resident in the Colony; this gives a total of 2,513 and of these 200 are Chinese.
The Chinese boat population (exclusive of the New Territories), as given in the Census taken last year was 45,302 and the number of boats belonging to the Port and the villages of Hongkong is as follows:-
Passenger boats,2,793 Cargo boats.1,259 Steam-launches,239 Lighters,303 Harbour boats,1,619 Fishing boats.3,803 Trading junks,1,833 11,849This gives an average of 3.8 persons per boat.
In addition there were 5,791 Chinese employed in the mercantile marine in the Harbour, making a total Chinese population afloat of 51,093 exclusive of the New Territories.
The licensed boats in the New Territories numbered 9,338.