§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the population of the United Kingdom today and 10 years ago,
Population (millions) Percentage Increase Area 1961 1971 1961–71 United Kingdom … … … 52.8 55.6 5.3 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics … … 218 245 12.3 United States of America … … … 183.7 207.1 12.7 China … … … 647 787 21.6 Indian sub-continent* … … … 544 680 25.1 South East Asia … … … 224 282 26.3 South America … … … 149 195 30.9 Africa … … … 261 354 35.6 * India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. The mid-1972 United Kingdom population was 55.8 million, an increase over 10 years of 4.7 per cent.