The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1073 - 801: Population Situation in Different Countries

Theoretically speaking, World War II was several times more brutal than World War I. The number of militaries mobilized by the countries involved in World War II would only be greater, and the casualties suffered by both the military and civilians would be even more.

Therefore, in the process of preparing for war, Arthur specially instructed the large military factories and industrial sectors to crazily expand production from this moment on, transporting all surplus industrial products and weapons and equipment to the warehouses.

Once the war broke out, there wouldn't be any worry about finding buyers for these stockpiled weapons, equipment, and material resources.

Not only could they be sold to European countries, enabling them to have enough strength to counter the German army, but part of them could also be sold to Asia, creating certain difficulties for the Island nation's expansion at the time.

To be honest, as long as the Island nation's expansion plans in other regions of Asia failed, the Island nation would ultimately be just an Island country with severe defects.

When the war erupted, all Australasia needed to do was to go all out to block the Island nation's supply lines, and the army of the Island nation would collapse on its own.

Even if the Island nation still formed an alliance with Germany and Italy, the two European allies far away in the sky would not have sufficient means to transport supplies to the Island nation.

By then, the small Island that nurtured the Islanders would have become a prison that trapped them.

When the nuclear weapons were developed, Arthur would make the Islanders understand why flowers are so red.

With the term of this Cabinet Government drawing to a close, the development and construction plans they had formulated were also approaching their end.

Of particular concern to Arthur was the Lake Eyre Canal project.

This canal project was initiated in 1929, with an estimated cost of nearly 270 million Australian dollars, and the construction time was over eight years.

Arthur had thought that it would be several more years before the Lake Eyre Canal was completed, but its construction advanced much more smoothly than planned.

To date, the Lake Eyre Canal has been under construction for over three years. Two of the three sections into which the canal was divided have actually been completed.

With a total length of nearly 150 kilometers, close to 100 kilometers of the canal have already been completed.

According to news from the construction department, it is expected that by the end of this year to the middle of next year, this much-anticipated canal might become operational.

This is good news for Australasia. Apart from being able to improve the geographical environment around Lake Eyre, the opening of the Lake Eyre Canal will also greatly aid the transportation of materials for the cities surrounding the canal.

Especially the Broken Hill Industrial Base, which is about to enter its peak production state this year, can first transport the produced supplies by railway to the areas around the canal, and then along the canal to other domestic and foreign regions.

The transportation capacity of this canal is much stronger compared to the railways and the Mure River.

This also means that the canal will complement the Broken Hill Industrial Base, yielding unexpected effects.

During the half month that Arthur spent overseeing Australasia's industrial production, he gained a full understanding of Australasia's state of industrial production.

Although the specific scale and figures are not as grand as those of the United States during its heyday, the current industrial strength of Australasia is undoubtedly significant and only second to that of the United Kingdom.

Of course, there is a potential competitor, which is Germany, facing significant limitations.

Don't underestimate the industrial strength of Germany. Even though a lot of its industry was divided up among the British and French and other nations, Germany's overall industrial scale still remains in a good state.

Especially since the British and French, in order to ensure Germany could repay its debts annually, have proactively relaxed some of the restrictions on Germany and even relocated some heavily polluting industries there.

In doing so, while indeed transferring a significant portion of the economic crisis's damage and improving their own domestic environments,

Germany's industry has gradually recovered, and its industrial level has now subtly surpassed that of France.

This is why the apparent chaos in Germany has obscured these facts, making the Frenchmen complacent, thinking they are the second major power in the world after Britain.

If the French investigated in detail, they would realize that their industry has already fallen behind both Australasia and Germany, and their economy has been far outstripped by Australasia.

After all, Australasia is the only country unaffected by the economic crisis, which has already destined Australasia's economy to soar during the crisis.

While other nations' economies are weakening, Australasia's economy continues to maintain high growth, naturally surpassing France.

Although there are no specific industrial scales and economic data for each nation, Arthur is certain that in terms of comprehensive strength, Australasia has become the second major power in the world.

Of course, if the restrictions on Germany were completely lifted, Germany's overall national strength might surpass Australasia.

After all, Germany's population at this time is not small; it is the nation with the largest population in Europe apart from Russia.

While there are no precise figures for the population of each nation, Arthur is clear about the general situation of each.

After all, the efforts in intelligence work over the years have not gone to waste, and for major intelligence organizations, it is a mere trifle to control basic industry data and population statistics for various nations.

Discussing the native land alone, Russia still has the largest population among the Powers.

Even though Russia has been devastated by war and various other reasons, it still cannot prevent Russia from standing at the pinnacle of population among the Powers.

Population rankings of countries (native land of the Powers) are as follows:

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First Place, Russia Nation, with a total population of 133 million people.

Second Place, Island Nation, with a total population of 64.57 million people.

Third Place, Germany, with a total population of 64.45 million people.

Fourth Place, United Kingdom, with a total population of 46.37 million people.

Fifth Place, France, with a total population of 41.85 million people.

Sixth Place, Italy, with a total population of 40.78 million people.

Seventh Place, Australasia, with a total population of 40.11 million people.

Eighth Place, Brazil, with a total population of 40.01 million people.

In fact, from the population data, one can see that Australasia had been gradually catching up with the European countries, with its disadvantage in population steadily diminishing.

Of course, a population just over 40 million is still far from sufficient. The reason that the populations of Italy and France are limited to 40 million, aside from the severe damage caused by World War I, is also because their native lands are inherently small and unable to accommodate a large population.

Every year, large numbers of French and Italian common people migrate far away, becoming immigrants.

Australasia, however, is different. Its native land can easily accommodate several hundred million people, and it is also an immigrant nation, with very few Australasians choosing to migrate elsewhere.

After all, compared to Europe where lands have been developed and perfected, Australasia is the place that offers more opportunities.

Based on the current approximate population growth data of the countries, within two years, the population of Australasia could surpass that of France and Italy, ascending to the fifth place throne in the world.

Britain is not so easy to surpass. After all, at this time, Britain's population is 6 million ahead of Australasia, and considering that a portion of Australasia's immigrants come from Britain, the British could cut off these immigrants at any time.

It is worth mentioning that in the population data rankings of the Powers, a new country had made its way in—Brazil.

After the demise of the United States, the overlord of North America, the world's countries and many European citizens actually had differing opinions about the thrones of the eight Powers.

Apart from the relatively stable positions of the seven countries, Britain, France, Australasia, Island, Italy, Germany, and Russia, the last Power seat was where opinions most fundamentally differed.

Under normal circumstances, the Austrian Empire, which still retained most of its strength, should have been the most capable contender for the Power's throne.

But at this time, the Austrian Empire was not as strong as imagined. The total population of the entire Austrian Empire was just over 20 million, far less than the population of Brazil, which had already exceeded 40 million.

Moreover, because the Austrian Empire was also a loser of World War I, it was not so easy for it to become a Power again.

Germany was recognized as a Power not only for the excellent performance of the German Army in World War I but also for its current, relatively strong industry.

Compared to Germany, the industry of the Austrian Empire was not so powerful, at least not to the extent that it was commonly acknowledged as a Power.

It was because of this population data that Arthur was quite concerned about the situation in Europe.

Germany, the Island Nation, and Italy all have substantial populations among the Powers, even ranking among the top.

Especially in Europe, Germany's population is the highest among all countries except for Russia, which also means Germany can rally the second largest elite army in Europe.

While countries like Britain and France have reinforcements from their colonial armies, armies composed of colonial natives ultimately do not possess the same fighting strength as armies made up of native soldiers.

This is why Britain and France, with sufficient colonial populations, could continuously conscript a large number of cannon fodder to deplete the viable population of Germany and Italy.

Otherwise, Arthur felt that the war might not be winnable, as just Germany alone was enough to cause a headache.

The good news is that after Russia's situation stabilized, its population should also enter a period of explosion.

During the rule of the Tsardom of Russia, the population growth rate of Russia was around 3 to 6 million annually.

Now, with a government much more welcomed by the Russian citizens, the desire of the Russian people to have children would likely increase.

Currently, the population of Russia had reached 133 million and was still on the rise. If it could reach 140 million before the war, it would be of great help to the entire war.

After all, population represents the number of soldiers that can be recruited. With a population of 140 million, if one were to recruit an army without considering anything else, at least 15 million troops could be gathered.

A 15 million strong army on the Eastern Front would be enough to exhaust Germany, which would be fighting on two fronts, in the upcoming war.

Just like in the original World War I, through fighting a two-front war, one could wear down Germany by attrition.