Geografie 1972, 77, 29-36
Population Development in South Bohemia
Due to a rather isolated position and a relatively high altitude, South Bohemia was populated much later than the rest of the country. The density of population was small and industrialisation proceeded rather slowly. The author describes the development of population in South Bohemia since 1870, and compares it with the development in the remaining parts of Bohemia. For a long time, people emigrated from South Bohemia to Prague or to Vienna (till 1914). Natural increase in population here was, however, more favourable than in the remaining parts of Bohemia. It also did not suffer much by the transfer of German inhabitants in 1946. After World War II emigration almost stopped but the natural increase also fell considerably. In 1960-1970 it was only 2,4 per mille whereas the total increase was only 1,0 per mille a year. In that decade the population stagnated in the whole Bohemia. There was only a 0,8 per mille increase. As early as 1947 the population of Bohemia belonder to a regressive type, i. e. the number of people over fifty exceeded by 7,6 % the number of children of 14. In 1968 the net production rate fell to 0,87. The population development in South Bohemia is further compared with East Slovakia - another part of Czechoslovakia, most similar in population increase, urbanisation, and (till 1950) also industrialisation progress. Diagrams show that both the population development, and urbanisation proceeded in both abovementioned regions approximately in the same manner. However since 1960 East Slovakia has shown a much greater increase as well as greater progress in industrial development. In proportion of town dwellers, however, South Bohemia preserves a higher level, i. e. the number of town dwellers has been increasind in spite of a contnuous population stagnation. In this paper the population development in South Bohemia (in 1950-1960) was also compared with other areas in Central Europe of a similar extent which showed a smaller density of population in 1960 and had their own regional centre. There are five in north-east Poland, aund four in the Alps. All of them differ at least in the proportion of town inhabitants, in the growth of town and in the total increase in population. The largest increase has been recorded in four Polish areas, the smallest in South Bohemia. In Bohemia the towns consumed nearly the whole population increase, similarly as in the Korutany area.
