Time flew by, and 1934 soon arrived.
The first piece of good news to mention was that the nationwide census in Australasia ordered by Arthur had finally concluded smoothly, thoroughly updating the country's population data and scale.
According to the results of the first census, as of January 1, 1934, Australasia had a total population of over 42.379 million, ranking sixth in the world (counting only the mainlands of the great powers) and already surpassing Italy's 41.57 million.
It is worth mentioning that France was another country whose population remained at this level. Although the exact population of France was unknown, based on its recent population growth data and newborn statistics, its population should be between 42.5 million and 43 million.
Reaching a population of 42.37 million could also be considered good news for Arthur. With war looming, a larger population meant greater national war potential.
Australasia's next goal was to surpass France in population data, ideally reaching a population of over 45 million before the war.
After all, the casualties inflicted on a nation by war were incalculable. Only by possessing a larger population could a country avoid the severe damage brought by war.
The good news was that the populace was not resistant to having more children. After all, the tuition fees for children in large families were basically covered by the government, and the government also provided corresponding encouragement for such families, greatly reducing their expenses regarding newborns.
Compared to the population scale, Arthur actually cared more about the proportion and distribution among various ethnic groups, which was the real purpose of holding this census.
According to the census results, among Australasia's 42.379 million people, British ancestry accounted for as much as 56.4%, totaling over 23.9 million people.
Russian ancestry accounted for 21.7%, totaling over 9.2 million