Demographics
In 1773, Galicia had about 2.6 million inhabitants in 280 cities and markets and approx. 5,500 villages. There were nearly 19,000 noble families with 95,000 members (about 3% of the population). The "non-free" accounted for 1.86 million, more than 70% of the population. A small number were full farmers, but by far the overwhelming number (84%) had only smallholdings or no possessions.
No country of the Austrian monarchy had such a varied ethnic mix as Galicia: Poles, Ruthenians, Germans, Armenians, Jews, Hungarians, Roma peoples, Lipowaner, etc. The Poles were mainly in the west, with the Ruthenians predominant in the eastern region ("Ruthenia").
The Jews of Galicia had immigrated in the Middle Ages from Germany and mostly spoke Yiddish as their first language. German-speaking people were more commonly referred to by the region of Germany where they originated (e.g. Saxons or Swabians). With inhabitants who had a clear difference in language such as with the Saxons or the Roma identification was less problematic, but widespread multilingualness blurred the borders again.
It is however possible to make a clear distinction in religious denominations: the majority of the Poles were Latin Catholics, while the Ruthenians were mostly Greek Catholics. The Jews, who represented the third largest religious group, were mostly of the Orthodox variety.
The average life expectancy was 27 years for men and 28.5 years for women, as compared to 33 and 37 in Bohemia, 39 and 41 in France and 40 and 42 in England. Also the quality of life was much lower. The yearly consumption of meat did not exceed 10 kilograms per capita, as compared to 24 kg in Hungary and 33 in Germany. This was mostly due to much lower average income.
In 1888 Galicia had 78,550 km² of area and was populated by ca. 6.4 million people, including 4.8 million peasants (75% of the whole population). The population density was 81 people per square kilometre and was higher than in France (71 inhabitants/km²) or Germany.
| Religions, Census of December 1910 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | 3,731,569 | 46.5% |
| Greek Catholic | 3,379,613 | 42.1% |
| Jewish | 871,895 | 10.9% |
| Protestant | 37,144 | 0.5% |
| Other | 5,454 | 0.0% |
| Total | 8,025,675 |
Read more about this topic: Kingdom Of Galicia And Lodomeria