The population of the west Indies

The number of whites and blacks in the West Indies is roughly the same, and the proportion of hybrids is only slightly smaller. In many West Indies countries, blacks account for the vast majority, but whites account for about 70% of the total population, while Cuba and Puerto Rico account for more than 40% of the total population of the whole West Indies. In other countries, except the Dominican Republic and some small protectorates, blacks are the largest single component, but not necessarily the majority; About three-quarters of the population in the Dominican Republic is mulatto. Haiti and Jamaica have the largest black populations.

In Caribbean society, race, color, culture, ethnic relations and class are intertwined in a complicated way, but they can be divided into four different social types: 1 Racial society represents the characteristics of a small island with multi-ethnic and racial unity; 2. There are stratified societies in areas closely related to skin color, class and culture, such as Jamaica and Haiti (former slave society); 3. Ethnic characteristics belong to the most important society, such as Trinidad and Tobago, where the class division of blacks, browns and whites has been challenged by the huge and scattered population of the West Indies; 4. In hierarchical society, blacks are not in the majority, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, whites are in the majority, and Dominican Republic, mixed-race people are in the majority. This society was formed as a sugar producer in the19th century. The West Indies have experienced a history of demographic changes: American Indians were killed by the Spanish in the Greater Antilles and wiped out by Britain and France in the Xiaoan Temple Leeds, which led to the introduction of African slaves into the sugarcane and coffee plantations of European colonists in the 17 and 18 centuries. After the abolition of slavery in Britain, France and the Netherlands in the19th century, Asian indentured laborers were introduced to plantations, especially from northern India. However, since the First World War, the unemployment rate on most islands has been rising, which is aggravated by the high natural population growth rate.

Since 1920, the improvement of medical care and sanitation has led to a rapid decline in mortality. Infant mortality rates in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have all fallen below 20, and most other territories have achieved similar declines, with the notable exception of Haiti. The birth rate in most countries is still high. Although the natural population growth rate is still very high, it has shown a downward trend partly due to birth control. However, what may affect the total population growth more seriously is the opportunity of immigration. For example, since the 1960s, between 20,000 and 25,000 Jamaicans have settled in the United States and Canada every year.

Underemployment in rural areas has promoted urban development in the West Indies. At present, more than half of the West Indies are urban residents, but they often live in conditions of surplus labor and overcrowded housing, which leads to the expansion of slums, which is a common endemic disease in Latin America. Urbanization based on natural rapid population growth and rural migration to cities has resulted in a large number of marginalized people, especially in towns and cities in Jamaica, Dominica, Haiti and Puerto Rico.