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The growth of population in Mexico Since 1940, Mexico has seen its population grow because of an unprecedented demographic explosion. Fortunately, the economy was able to keep pace with this growth and, industrialization aiding, the standard of living has not fallen. Quite the opposite : recently it was able to surpass the critical level of $ 500 per person and per year. Inhabited by 19,600,000 people in 1940, Mexico today has 50,000,000. In the tropical region, the countrysides are overpopulated, but there are no large cities. On the central plateau, the unusual phenomenon is the fact of Mexico City's extraordinary growth ; the population level went from 1,750,000 inhabitants in 1940 to 8,500,000 in 1970. More surprising still, was the sudden urban expansion of the cities along the northern frontier. Quite often, they have expanded in full desert. Nine cities ranging from Tijuana in the West to Matamoros in the East contain today more than 2,000,000 inhabitants in this pioneer zone of a very particular atmosphere.

Hassi Messaoud The oil field region of Hassi Messaoud, where petroleum flowed for the first time in 1956, produced more than 33,000,000 tons of oil in 1969. Of this total, almost 19,000,000 tons were furnished by Hassi Messaoud field itself, operated by the C.F.P. (A.) and the S.N.RE.P.AL. companies ; still, difficulties linked to the geological formation of the oil pool slowed the pace of output. More than 5,000 people now live in the Hassi Messaoud region. The two oil companies have built bases to lodge their personnel ; an embryonic town has sprung up ; huts were constructed, for the most part in the small hollows which pit the surface of the plateau. The airplane is the most convenient means of communication with the exterior, in particular with the headquarter offices that are in charge of this operation and which are located in Algiers and in Paris.

The development of commercial agriculture in the Malayan peninsula prior to 1908 In the Malayan peninsula, scantily populated and hardly at all exploited in the 19 th century, Chinese immigrants from the south of China and European settlers created plantations upon which each group has left its distinctive mark. The Chinese entered Malaya via the British settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. Having come to Malaya with the purpose of returning to their native country once they had made their fortunes, they raised crops capable of producing quickly and for which only a minimum of capital investment was required : cassava, pepper. They engaged in an itinerant method of commercial agriculture, abandoning the land as soon as its fertility began to decline. Thanks to a very strong economic organization (the Kongsi system was employed), the Chinese plantations experienced great prosperity. At the beginning of the 20 th century, however, and under the influence of British legislation which sought to protect the soil, and also because of the increased growing of rubber trees, this type of agriculture commenced to expire. The European planters experienced less success than did the Chinese in the 19 th century : ignorance of the environment, lack of labor, choice of crops requiring a long growth period (clove, nutmeg) dispersion of efforts and amateurism of the planters were the main causes. Their condition changed at the end of the 19 th century with the British seizure of the Malayan states and the introduction of rubber growing. The colonial authorities encouraged the settlement of European colonists (land concessions, loans from public funds) and the development of rubber plantations (Indian Tamoul labor was used). But the phenomenal growth of rubber production (2,000 hectares planted in 1900, 100,000 in 1908) was certainly due in large part to the appearance of numerous private companies and the aid given by the London money markets.

Chineses on Cambodia coastland The article deals with the Chinese community. Their number (the third of the total population), the visible marks they left on the landscapes and the variety of occupations involving speculative engagements, characterize the coastal regions of Cambodia. The first part examines how the people settled in the country : the setting up of a political and commercial organization extending all the way down the coast from Saigon to Bangkok at the end of the 17th century, the shifts of populations following the introduction of pepper growing in 1850, and the establishment of fishing villages on the desert coast of Koh Kong. The original features of the Chinese society are then presented as well as the process of «kmerisation». The activities of the Chinese people are dealt with in the last part : pepper growing and period of crisis, arboriculture, development of sea resources. The study emphasizes the pionnering role played by the Chinese, and their efficiency in the development of the coastal regions of Cambodia.

Fishing on Comoé river Fishing and the consumption of fish have considerable importance in Black Africa. In Ivory Coast, the fish eaten originates in the main part from the inland basin of the Niger in Mali and from the lagoon and coastal regions ; however, fishing has grown on the rivers. Fishing on the Comoé, in particular, gives livelihood to a rather large population. This river, 1,160 kilometers in length, has high water in summer and low water in winter that is highly favorable for fishing, which lasts from 6 to 8 months. Until the appearance of Ewé immigrants, who came from Ghana, the river populations : Baoulé, Agni and Attié, hardly fished the river at all, with the exception of the Agni. The Ewes, who arrived after 1950, have set up 7 camp sites on the central Comoé. Their fishing techniques are of an artisan-type, as is the case for the Agni, but they are highly expert and efficient. The principal equipment used is : dug out canoes and paddles, nets and hooks to set up barriers in the river, and plaited mats. Fishing is conducted under the sharp supervision of the camp chief (fish catching, selling, distribution of the sales benefits). Among the autochthonous Agni, fishing is only a supplementary activity to agriculture. Two different population groups, their manner of living totally distinct, live together on the banks of the Comoé without too much friction. The Ewes, because of their experience with fishing, can serve as examples and educate the peasant populations, to whose economy they contribute an important food product.