Census 1946

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Due to WW2 the census carried out in Aden in October 1946 was the first since 1931. There had been a considerable influx from 1937 onwards, especially from the Yemen, when more labourers were needed for construction work connected with the rearmament programme. 

 

The cumulative effect of this was that at the time of the census there were at least 13,500 unaccompanied adult males from the Yemen in ‘fortress’ Aden alone, excluding those in Sheikh Othman. Or in other words about 25% of the total civilian population in the peninsula. 

 

This imbalance was noted as being a potential problem in the event of civil unrest – and proved to be a correct assessment when the Yemeni Arabs were responsible for most of the worst incidents in the serious anti-Jewish riots [see 1947 Riots]. (Here it is worth mentioning that Yemenis could not be recruited into either the APL or the Police.)

 

The second statistic that stands out is the increase in the number of Jews in Aden at the time of the census. A large number of Jews had been induced to leave the Yemen in the hope of seeking admission to Palestine. 

 

When they reached Aden they found there was no prospect of obtaining immigration certificates to enter their promised land. Over 1,100 of these Yemeni Jews were being housed in a temporary camp outside Sheikh Othman. They had no work and were living on the charity of the Jewish Agency.

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What is perhaps surprising is that although about 1,600 Jews had arrived in the previous two years (1945-46), as many as 1,700 had come from the Yemen in the two years before that (1943-44), the latter group presumably as a result of their persecution in the Yemen as opposed to the prospect of reaching Palestine.

 

The third interesting statistic is the decrease in the number of Somalis as a percentage of the total population. It was now down to 5.4% of the total population (from 8.4% in 1931). More to the point only one in seven of those living in ‘Somalipurra’ (Maalla) was now a Somali.

 

Altogether there were 5,000 homeless persons on census day. They were counted by rounding them up into collection points in each census division. It was also decided not to count those on board ships or country craft not normally based on Aden. Military personnel were counted but it was later decided not to publish the figures for security reasons. Civilians working in the Military Area were however included in the published figures.

 

Children of all ages were included in the total of just over 80,000 civilians. Over 15,000 of this total were under 10. Looking at the ethnic groups what stands out is the difference between the Somalis and the Jews, both with more or less the same proportion of males to females. Whereas about a little over 12% of the Somalis were children under the age of 10, no less than 26% of the Jews were that young. Less than 5% of the total population were aged over 60.